Silver Moon Millennium: May I Never
by Covenmouse
Summary: In a time never counted in human history, a vast war was fought. It spanned across not one planet, but many. Caught in the midsts of it are ten lives, ten stories and five loves that unwittingly stared it all. shittenou/senshi
1. Prologue

**Silver Moon Millennium:**

**May I Never**

**Author's Introduction**

Sailor Moon; a wonderful phenomenon started by the equally glorious Naoko Takeuchi in 1993 has spanned through many different forms. Starting with its original manga, or _comic_, form it made its way into animation, ice shows, radio shows, live action television and, of course, the lesser known world of FanFiction. While limited in its unofficial fashion, the FanFiction remains a wonderful source for fans long after the initial series has drawn to a close. The funniest thing about this format of story presentation is that while every writer uses the same characters, they're at the same time unique and wonderful. Better yet, if you dislike a specific author's story, its okay! It isn't "canon," its not a set standard of the true story, so you don't have to agree with it.

Hidden within this vast world of unofficial plots, drama and romance is a very specific form of Sailor Moon FanFic–the Silver Millennium Epic. Most every fan of this magical series has had one. Wether these dreams were written, drawn or imagined, countless of girls and boys alike have dreamed of adding on to Takeuchi-san's vision with their own, or, in some cases, completely re-writing it.

Held in these next chapters is my version of the Sailor Moon events. From here on in, everything you read and see (for there will be illustrations later on) is made of fact compiled from different canon versions of the series, as well as new ideas originated in my strange American mind. Like many fans, I've had this story stuck in the back of my mind since I was first introduced to Sailor Moon and her world in 1995. Its gone through many rewrites, but the final version is finally coming available to friends and fellow fans alike. That doesn't mean that its without fault, as I have not been able to find any Beta readers. Know that I have, however, tried my best to go over everything with a fine toothed come. Comments, constructive criticism and opinions are deeply appreciated

That said, I realize that I have used some fairly controversial subjects in the creation of this piece. This note serves to inform that the story within is an Alternate Universe FanFic. These certain aspects are not something meant to say that I believe it is true in canon, only that I preferred it be this way in my presentation of the story. On a similar, but slightly off-kilter note, this introduction shall also serve as a character and term reference in the future, when enough of the FanFic is posted to warrant it.

I welcome you all to the first book in the Sailor Moon Millennium series, May I Never. I hope you enjoy the story.

_Rae P._

_**EDITED: 10.28.08**. Thanks to my new (and glorious!) beta reader, Solomara, this chapter has been updated. Grammar, spelling, and some sentence confusion has been dealt with to leave a much cleaner, easier read.  
_

_**Prologue**_

A dry, dusty wind blew into the funeral pavilion near the back of the royal palace. Unbound black hair, so prominent among those gathered, tossed and turned in the wind like a living mass. To the child gathered closest to her mother's skirts, it almost seemed like a dragon, dark and ominous against the future. Her own dark hair was bound back in a thick, modest braid that bumped against the back of her legs as the wind tried in vain to push the heavy mass about. Even so, a few gentle curls escaped above her ears to curl about the baby-fat still retained in her cheeks. Though she was young yet, those about her could already see the beauty she was going to be when she matured.

The girl's hand twisted further into the voluminous skirt of her mother's dress, her eyes fixed not upon the priest standing at the head of the coffin, but at the black mass of her aunts', uncles' and cousins' hair. Still, the chanting of the priest could not escape her notice for all that it had been muted into background noise. The priest's voice became that of the dragon's as it reached for the gleaming onyx-colored casket set on the funeral pyre.

"Deiux ma leiri-a. Deius nei la ma," The dragon chanted, its black claws scraping at the closed prison of her sister's body. The tongue twisted out, lapping acid along the wood, turning the varnish dull and scorching marks along it. The child wanted to cry out, but the words caught in her throat. She wanted to shake, to cry, to indicate that something was wrong, but she was frozen by the black stare of the creature that tormented her sister's remains. The serpentine creature slowly wound its long body around the base of the pyre, yet it never let its gaze divert from the young girl's. Coming over the other side of the casket, the dragon let its claws sink finally into the wood itself, dark amber and gold tendrils spreading through the wood like punctures through a pane of glass. Its enormous black head, as long and wide as the girl's own body, slowly lowered down to eye level with her, noxious breath caressing her face and blowing her hair as the wind alone could not.

The child's lips parted, even as she knew she could not scream. The tongue of the dragon drifted out towards her, the acid dripping from it to sizzle and scorch droplets down the front of her black and scarlet dress. Her violet eyes were wide with terror, she knew, but no one about her seemed to notice. Still, she could not move any further, no matter how she tried.

A great slamming noise broke the silence of the gathering about her and flames erupted from the base of the pyre. A single blink and the creature was gone, though she thought she could still see glimpses of him in the black that occasionally flickered in the hot hues of the bonfire. Muscles tense with the spasm shock brought by the vision's departure, the child glanced at the gathering about her. The priest–her uncle, Duke Mechallan Pheonix—had taken his hand off the casket from where he'd lit it and taken a step back so that the flames wouldn't singe his robes... not that anyone would notice black marks on a robe that was made to look scorched in the first place. Others about her were stirring now, shifting a little to keep their muscles from stiffening. They would remain here until the fire completed its work, turning the late Crown Princess into nothing more than scattered ashes.

"Rayna?" A soft voice hissed into her ear, and the girl had to restrain a squeak of terror as she turned to find her next eldest sister standing behind her. Ranfan's eyes, a mirror of Rayna's own, darkened in worry as her brows furrowed tightly. She was only a couple of years Rayna's elder, but the mark of the Senshi was already upon Ranfan's brow. It glowed a little as she inspected her beloved sister, and leaned in closer. "Rayna, what did you do to your dress?"

Fresh horror spread through Rayna's small form, and she found her eyes drawn down to the front of her dress along with Ranfan's. There, dappled as if by large, fat rain droplets, scorch marks marred the length of the scarlet material. It was obvious to anyone who knew fire as well as the Martian royal family did that such marks weren't caused by standing too close to a funeral pyre.

Rayna couldn't help focusing back towards the flames, and perhaps it was her imagination, but she was almost certain she could see the dragon clearly again, slinking along the falling coffin and laughing.

The vision stayed with her the rest of the day, slipping into her soup at dinner and weaving amongst the mourners at the wake. It was there in the hearth fire as she and her siblings said their evening prayers, and it slipped upon the shadows as she walked with them to their individual bedrooms. Only children younger than five years, of which there were four currently in the royal family, slept in the nursery. When one turned six, they were expected to begin sleeping in individual rooms inside the "children's wing." These were hardly bigger than cells, but nicely furnished, and all down a small private hallway so that the siblings would be closer together. Each child's room would be switched again when they turned thirteen, depending on the path of life they chose. For now, Rayna left the toddlers with their nannies and continued with her elder siblings towards their wing.

As they made their way down the hall the dragon followed, dancing in the shadows their candles cast between the portraits that hung there. On the right hand side was painting after painting of the past Queens and Kings of Mars, always pictured as a couple save the few instances where a ruler had died before they were able to take a spouse. In this way, the Martians strove to represent that they believed highly in dual rulership. Though it was left unspoken, this was also why the spouse of the ruler was chosen at great length and only with the consent of a majority of counselors. Marriage for love's simple sake was not something commonly or well spoken of to the royal children. On the left of the hallway hung portraits of trios rather than couples. Always captured in their prime, the royal guardians of Mars played just as important a role in the ruling of the planet.

Tradition played a great part in these portraits. Whereas the positioning of the rulers in the paintings changed over time and each artist was allowed some freedom with background, the paintings of the guardians were always basically the same. Always, the Princess, the Senshi of Mars herself, stood in the middle, sword drawn and proud of the uniform she wore. To either side, the Moon Guardians, always her cousins, Phobos and Deimos stood to her flank. No matter the subtle changes in features and shades of coloring, the background was always that of the black and scarlet flag of the red planet.

Tonight, these paintings seemed somehow different to Rayna. As she passed, ever slowing near the back of their little group, she hardly noticed the hot wax dripping over her porcelain skin, so caught was she in watching as the portraits turned to look back at her. She could hear a strange, hollow laughing echoing at the back of her head like the sounds of moonlight and shadow, and the dragon raced alongside them like a fish in the sea, swimming the wall between the onyx and ruby decked frames.

Finding herself nearly alone as the warm light of her brothers and sisters began to turn the corner, Rayna broke herself from her thoughts and ran to catch up with the little circle of orange tranquility rather than be left behind with the dark faces of the past. Her eldest brother, Roko, come home from the temple for that day's funeral, turned to cast a questioning eye down at her. She fell into place behind him, and let her violet eyes drop. Running was forbidden inside the castle except when a true emergency warranted it. Rayna was certain Roko would say nothing and so she said nothing as well, casting her eyes down at the candle she held in her hands. Something about the way the flame arched its back towards her, then once more to the left side of the hallway pulled her eyes in that direction. Once more the paintings were watching her with such rapt attention it made her skin prickle. Never before had an artist's trick affected her so, and she wondered if it was simple imagination doing this or something more. Forcing her eyes away from them, she turned to the right to see if the Kings and Queens would look at her thus.

To her great relief they didn't, though she couldn't help but notice the reason they did not–their eyes were on another in their party. Ranfan, apparently unaware of her audience, walked ahead in somber reflection, so lost in thought that she didn't even feel the more tangible eyes of her sister boring into her. The mark on her forehead, however, glowed briefly when Rayna looked at it, and the girl felt color rising to her cheeks. Unsure of why she was blushing, or even why these strange visions were plaguing her so, Rayna almost didn't stop when Roko opened the double doors leading into the Children's Wing.

"Good night," he whispered to them, breaking another rule in his speaking. The time after prayers was supposed to have been kept in silence, though none but he, already having begun his training for the priesthood, knew why that was. He stopped each of the four middle children as they headed into the dark–pleasantly portrait free–hallway beyond. To Romere, the next eldest, he extended a hand to settle on his shoulder. This was as much of a comforting gesture as the two brothers were inclined to give one another anymore. A short time ago, it would have been different–before the accident which left Romere blind. Ever since, the boy, barely come to the age of choosing whether he would go into service at a temple or among the royal guards, had become embittered and remarkably unpleasant. His family gave him his space, sure that in time he would come to terms with his fate and settle into the role of scholar that had been laid out for him. Romere pulled away from the touch, and descended into the darkness beyond. The tap, tap, tapping of the cane he held in place of a candle echoed out from the empty hall.

Ranmon was stopped next, greeted with a hand on his shoulder, as well as a light kiss on the brow. Unlike most of his siblings, Ranmon's eyes were the deep, rich brown of a doe or fawn, amazing in the simple way that they could cause a person's mind and heart to melt with a single glance. This singular talent was a supreme contrast to Ranmon's overwhelmingly volatile personality. His rages were as harsh and swift as the sandstorms of Uranus, and his sweet moments as soft and kind as the kiss of morning dew upon a blossoming rose. Worse yet was the debate over whether he had control of these moods or not. While the public opinion leaned towards his innocence in its start, there were some–most notably those in his immediate family–who were almost certain that some of these mood swings were done quite purposely. It was because of this that his birthright had been overlooked when Ralisia, the second eldest sister, and Roko had both given up their rights to Crown or Senshi power by joining the priesthood.

No rages came this time; Ranmon gave his elder a smile before slipping into the darkness. His candle lit the passage a little more, and Rayna's apprehension lessened as Ranfan took her turn to stop beside their brother.

Roko stopped Ranfan a little longer than the two boys, taking the curly haired girl into his arms for a quick embrace. He said something then, of this Rayna was certain for she saw Ranfan give the slightest of nods into his shoulder. She was not told what this was, however, and then Ranfan, too, was gone. Roko turned to the last sibling left, and offered her that easy smile she'd so long associated with him.

Though he was exactly double her age, Rayna still had vivid memories of this brother before he'd gone to study with the priests one year ago. At least, she had better memories of him than she did Ralisia or Reika. She winced unconsciously at the memory of the eldest of their little brigade, and shook that aside with the memory of what their father had told them all three days prior. "Reika is no longer your sister. Though we hail her as dead in the eyes of our countrymen, we alone know that Reika is much worse than that. She is a blood traitor, and a pox upon the name of Mars. From this day forth, Ralisia is and always has been, the eldest of my brood."

The cold, unfeeling glint in her father's usually warm black eyes had sent a chill through Rayna's soul and spine, and did once more even as she brushed the memory away. She'd rarely seen him like that, so angry and full of resentment. The thought that that demeanor could so easily turn upon one of his own children was even more upsetting.

"Raye." Her brother's voice, close now that he was crouching in the hall before her, brought her back to reality once again. From his worried tone and expression, the girl was certain he'd called her name, and nickname probably, at least once before. She offered him one of her rare, ever polite smiles.

"Woolgathering," Rayna, or Raye to her close friends and relatives, explained. From the frown on his face, Roko didn't quite believe that but neither did he press the matter.

"You be careful with that," he replied instead, "if you travel space too much, it is said you'll become cold and distant."

"What's wrong with that?" she couldn't help replying, her normal non-expression falling back upon her darling cherry-blossom lips. "Cold and distant is better than emotional and traitorous."

Roko's deep purple eyes stopped their twinkling, and his smile faded for a moment. He reached out for her, a touch she didn't pull away from, and the warmth of his hands upon her shoulders came as a great shock to her. Until that moment, she hadn't realized how cold she'd been even under the dark layers of wool of which their winter prayer robes were made. Certainly he felt that too, for his lips eased into a deep frown, and his voice deepened past its fourteen years. The wise mind he'd always been so praised for showed then, like a single star in a dead system–bright and clear and strong. "I know this has been hard on you, Raye. It has been on all of us. I don't really know what father and mother were thinking, taking you into the counsel room like that when Reika's .... reason for departure was exposed."

He paused then, and Rayna's own frown deepened to match his. Her own temper, though certainly not as wild as Ranmon's, was never something to be trifled with. Before she could let it carry the words to her lips–always an upsetting thing, as these outbursts, unlike most assigned to children of her age, seemed to come from wisdom her mere seven years did not account for–Roko took up his lecture once more, "I know what you're thinking. 'How could she?' 'Why would she do this to her family?' 'How could she abandon her position like that?' ... I can't say that I understand her decision myself. We weren't exactly raised to understand such things."

That in itself was an understatement. While the siblings knew of their love for one another, and the love that had long since grown between their mother and father, what Reika had done was far from the usual path of their station. "But why hide it like this?" she found herself asking, her voice far from the indignant anger one could have expected from her when they were treating her like the child she appeared to be.

"Because..." Here Roko sighed, and paused again. Rayna gave him his time to collect his thoughts, though the darkness of the hall loomed beyond him and the slowly damping flames of their candles grew smaller. "Because this has been embarrassing enough for our family." Seeing the confusion in Rayna's eyes, Roko explained further, "You know of the last war, in Grandmother's time?"

Rayna nodded. She had been told of the last civil war, only a generation past, that had fallen in Queen Rabelle's reign. A glance behind her at the unbroken wall of rulers landed on one of the more recent portraits; their grandmother, caught in her prime at the side of her husband, their grandfather, King Hildalgo Mars. Like most women of the blood, her hair flowed long and dark as the deepest night. Her skin, pure porcelain, stood out against the onyx and vermillion colors of her formal dress and the suit of her mate at her side. Hildalgo was actually her second husband; the first had died too young to have fathered any children with her. His name, though mostly forgotten, had been Venise–he was the first Venusian to marry into their line. Later, to reform that tragically broken alliance, Rayna's own father, Reikar, had married into their family as his sister assumed the throne of Venus.

What was remarkable about Rabelle was that another portrait of her stood across the hallway from this portrait. She was one of the few Warrior Queens, the ones that withstand living under the both the needs of the Crown and the powers and duties of the Senshi. Long, long ago, in a time of history every royal child knew of, but had yet to be told of in detail, the powers had been forced to split into a Queen and Guardian. There were exceptions to every rule, of course. Rabelle was a wondrous woman in this, yes, and in the trials she had faced and come through. In her time, a rebel house of their family, so distant that they weren't truly of the blood any more, (though royal powers sometimes found their way into their children) had tried to lay claim to the throne. The last of the only three civil wars to scar the surface of Mars, this had also been the bloodiest and longest fought. In the end, however, the traitors had been dealt with and sent away, never to return if they valued their lives, and the House of Mars stood strong. It had, however, been a dark mark on the family's long-lived legacy.

"When the Fuegojoyans were cast from Our Lady," Roko continued over her reverie, using the more intimate term for their home planet, "they were given refuge on Mercury. Because of this, things have not been easy between our worlds for a long time. Reika fell in love with a nobleman of theirs, and had gone away with him. That a Princess of ours–the Crown Princess at that–would do such a thing to her family is very embarrassing, is it not?"

Indeed, Rayna could feel her own cheeks growing pink with it, and she gave a terse nod. "Then you see why Father had to lie? Why he had to tell the public that she was killed, rather than further this embarrassment?" Another nod. "... and why he is so angry with her?"

For a moment Rayna was still. Could she get so mad at one of her siblings as to deny them their place in her heart? She wasn't certain, though a part of her, perhaps more honest with herself than most people were wont to be, told her that while she might not mean the words later, she could be so angry. Perhaps this was the way it was for their father? That in mind, the girl nodded and let her eyes drop to the hard marble floor beneath them, where the unsettling shadow of the dragon that was not there sent another shiver dancing the length of her spine.  
Roko's lips against her brow turned her attention away from this, and she gave him the slightest of smiles as she raised her lips to his in a childish peck. That warm grin of his returned, and Rayna's heart was glad of it. He wrapped his arms around her. The embrace lasted a little longer than was normal or than the girl usually cared to be held, but this night she didn't mind it. He let her go after awhile and stood up before he gave her a gentle nudge towards the dark hall that led to her quarters. "Goodnight little firebug."

"Goodnight dear priest," she mimicked, a sassy smirk of humor she barely felt graceing her childish lips before she braved the darkness and let that heavy oak door settle behind her with a noise that echoed off the walls of the smaller corridor. Rayna turned back towards the door, eyes going to the pale orange glow between door and threshold that indicated that Roko still stood on the other side. Gradually that light faded, and the barely audible scratch of his slippers against the tile dissipated completely. Left alone with nothing but her candle to light her way, for the cracks underneath her siblings' doors were dark, and no noises came from behind them, Rayna began to make her hesitant way down the hall to where her room lay at very end. She wondered now at her choice.

There were eight rooms in this wing, total. Each one of them was small, barely big enough for the bed, desk and fireplace they were equipped with. While the royal children were privileged, they weren't spoiled. Big rooms with lots of needless luxury were nice, but also served to make a child believe that that sort of decadence was a requirement to life, or so their teachers said. When they grew older, more luxurious places would be made for them, but only if they worked for them. Rayna, like most of her siblings, was happy with the small space. It wasn't big enough to be lonely, nor small enough to be confining. It was comfortable, and personal, and all they really needed.

Since there were only four children of age to live in these quarters– or three, as Romere was soon to turn thirteen and thus move from this place–they were allowed to choose for themselves which room they'd have out of the ones left open. Rayna had chosen the room across from Ranfan's at the back of the hallway. This meant she had to pass her brothers' rooms at the forefront and then the four unoccupied rooms between the sets.

Passing the boys' rooms wasn't problematic. Nothing save her and her own shadow moved in the flickering orange light and she let a small amount of tension ease from her shoulders. The second set of rooms, too, was passed without a problem, and a little more of Rayna's apprehension fled. Perhaps the dragon had been her imagination all along. That thought soothed her as she ignored the vague doubts of her own sanity at imagining such things. Everyone knew that she had visions in the fire, a thing that had marked her for Priestess-hood early on, and so she was used to "seeing things." It was simply that things did not usually move out of the fire, or follow her about her day.

As these thoughts crossed her mind and fled with the speed that most thoughts come and go, her foot crossed the mark of the third set of rooms. That was when she heard it–a soft, slithering noise near the beginning of hallway. Rayna stopped in her tracks, vaguely noticing the cold beginning to creep through the thin material of her indoor slippers and up into the soles of her feet. "Who's there?" she asked the darkness softly, well aware of her sleeping brethren and tempers she was likely to stir should she wake them for imagined spooks in the dark. The light danced about her merrily, as if it hadn't a clue that something here was wrong, but more and more the cold clawed at Rayna's heart as the dragon had Reika's fake coffin earlier that day.

Violet eyes going wide with terror, Rayna thought her heart must have stopped for a breath-stealing moment as that idea fully registered in her emotionally taxed mind. Slowly, shaking hands causing the flame to sputter and dance as it fought against the breeze of its own creation, Rayna looked downward towards the blackened, sooty claws that felt cold as the hand of death where they had sunk through the fabric of her robes and into the soft flesh beneath. When the candle fell, guttering itself on the black marble below, a rational-minded Rayna would have expected darkness. Instead, light flared, engulfing her as a scream she wouldn't realize until later was her own shattered the silence of the night.

Though hot white light tore at her eyes, they remained open. A black speck dancing in front of them took the form of the serpentine creature that had been stalking her all that day. His grin, she knew, would forever be burned into the back of her eyelids; just as the memory of the fire of his breath seeping down into her throat, scorching and searing her throat would stay engraved upon her memory. Then the vision broke, the flames tearing the blackness of the dragon apart before they themselves dissipated, leaving her vision full of spots and rainbows.

"Raye! Raye!" Someone was shaking her and, for the second time that night, Rayna snapped back to reality at the sound of someone calling her name. This time, however, there was a sick lurching as her sister's hands clutched her shoulders, and a strange, hot sensation somewhere in the pit of her stomach.

Rayna gave a faint groan, and another, heavier set of hands settled over Ranfan's, forcing the other girl to still her shaking. "Enough, Ran!" Romere snapped, his voice close enough that he had to be sitting behind her; there was still too much dancing light playing tag over Rayna's vision for her to clearly make out the girl in front of her, much less turn to see her brother's position. "Rayna," he continued, voice rough for a thirteen-year-old. "Talk to us. What's this about?"

"She's got the mark, Romere," Ranfan whispered. Rayna's vision was slowly clearing, along with the confusion in her head. There was a strange red light in the hall that, when the light spots and scratches finally faded, allowed Rayna to make out the strangest expression she had ever seen on Ranfan's face. The normally happy, if a little overly so, girl was frowning, and in her eyes Rayna could see the spark of both fear and anger. Though the first was vastly predominant over the latter, Rayna couldn't help but think the second more important. Anger was something she had never seen from Ranfan, and hadn't expected to ever be directed at her.

"The mark?" Romere asked, and it was then that Rayna remembered his affliction. She also noted in that moment that he was indeed sitting behind her; they were all on the floor, as it seemed she had fallen. Rayna stirred, their hands on her shoulders beginning to press too hard, and all talk was stilled as she got herself into a fully upright position. True enough, her whole right side protested the movement, and she knew she had indeed fallen without any knowledge that she should be catching herself. One delicate white hand rose to her head, a slight noise of pain issuing from her lips, when her brow furrowed in confusion. Her forehead was hot, almost painfully so.

The doors snapped open then, the noise of their connection with the wall echoing down the hall in waves to startle the three sitting there. Though Rayna winced at the sound, she turned with her siblings to face the guards that had come running. The light they brought with them made her wince away at first, but when her eyes cleared the peculiarity hadn't stopped. Instead of rushing to meet them and see what the matter was, the guards stood still, staring down the hall at them with Ranmon among them. By all appearances the boy had run to get them when he'd heard his sister screaming, but now there was little they seemed capable of except gawking. Idly, Rayna wondered if the dragon had inflicted her with a second head when the pale red light reflected in the polished marble below caught her eye.

There were no scorch marks on the ground to indicate the fire that had consumed her, no soot on her dress or residual heat in the stone floor. No, there was no indication that anything had happened, save the brightly burning insignia on Rayna's forehead: The symbol of the Guardian of Mars.

* * *

"There is a new Guardian chosen on the Red Planet," the thin, chime-like voice reported from beside the silver throne. The speaker shifted a little, settling more easily on the floor at the hem of her Lady's dress, though she took great care not to soil the pure white silk with her fur. "Our Omens say she will be the final choice."

The great lady nodded, her hair, almost a color to match her dress, floating about the throne as if born with a life of its own. "Then they're all chosen."

"Yes, I believe so," the first speaker nodded, lifting a paw to groom it for a moment before continuing. "I had started to believe that Princess Ranfan would be the final choice, but our omens had indicated a more... talented Senshi for their department."

"Luna," The Lady chided gently, her voice a mere coo, "Be kind. Ranfan has her good qualities, though I agree that she'd make a better Queen than a Warrior, as it should be set now. Have you any report on why the Fires would make such a bold choice?"

"No, your majesty. The most that the Oracles are willing to admit is that before the first court could be called, a significant choice for each Senshi must be made."

"Must?" A light smile lit upon the Lady's lips, though only those close to her could see the innocent humor behind a mocking sort of expression.

"Must." Luna repeated, a defiant nod emphasizing her word choice. Once more the cat returned to her paw, digging her tongue into the crevices between her toes and gnawing at a small knot in the black fur. The Lady waited patiently for Luna to work out her grooming, safe in the knowledge that the cat was simply putting her thoughts into order. Finally, Luna picked up her sentence. "I fear there is something dark brewing. I can't say it isn't anything more than idle speculation or worry, but something isn't right."

The Lady's smile dipped and she gave a soft sigh. "I fear you are right, Luna. Something is coming. .... or, something is already here. Either way, the Oracles have given us a start with deflecting this 'something,' haven't they? They have given us a clue in warning against the early formalization of the court. Now that Mars has been agreed to be in its final alignment, all the parties are ready."

"Not quite, My Lady." Another voice, masculine in nature, joined in the conversation. The speaker was a white haired cat that bore a great resemblance to Luna in the way that many cats of a similar breed look alike. As he padded across the room, eyes very un-feline in their focus on the pair rather than the quantity of shining objects and reflections scattered about the crystal-like throne room, he paused only to bump his forehead against his darker mate's. Both the emblems on his head and Luna's, shaped like crescent moons turned upon their backs, glowed briefly upon meeting, and stopped as soon as they were parted. He continued up towards the Queen's throne then, hopping upon the armrest so that she could easily get to the note tucked, for easy transportation, into his silver and blue collar.

The Lady took the note from him with a nod of thanks and opened the paper to scan the words deliberately printed on it without any flourishes or extravagancies that would have marked a less urgent message from one of the courtiers. Her silvery eyebrows arched elegantly towards her own crescent moon emblem, though somehow the movement of skin did not distort the skin-bonded charm at all. After a moment she folded the note in hand and nodded. "Luna."

The cat looked up from her resumed grooming instantaneously, red eyes trained to the face of her Lady. "Luna," the Lady repeated, nodding to the little black cat. "Go to the clerk room and fetch eight of the best scribes. Have them sent to my office with enough of the official stationary, and ink of one planetary color each for several copies of a letter, if they were to ruin a page or two."

Luna nodded and rose to complete her order as the Lady's pale blue eyes turned to Artemis. "I hate to split you and your mate up, but I know you are the best I trainer I have, Artemis, and I must ask you to begin a long mission for me."

"As you wish, My Lady." Artemis inclined his head, already knowing that Luna would have his head if he refused a mission from Serenity.

"I wish you to carry missives to each kingdom in the system. These must be given to no other but the Queen and King of each planet, and shared by no one but them. Begin with Mercury and work your way through. When you come to your route's end in Pluto, you must bring Senshi Pluto back with you. I have need of her."

"Yes, My Lady."

High Queen Serenity of the Silver System, Queen of the Moon Kingdom, and soon-to-be founder of the yet unknown Silver Millennium stood then, taking a look about her strangely deserted throne room. Things were going to get a lot more hectic now, she knew, but one must work with what life deemed to give. "You may find Luna and say your goodbyes after she has carried out her task. It will take a while to get the letter drafted and copied."

Artemis stretched out his forelegs and inclined his head towards them in the approximation of a cat's bow that he and Luna had long since worked out. He remained where he was, though, knowing his mate was still about her duties, and watched as the queen headed back towards her personal chambers. A movement caught his eye, and he couldn't help but turn his head towards the door where he caught the faintest end of a rope of blonde hair as it ducked behind the double doors leading down the servants' hallway.

His whiskers twitched in a cat's laugh, though he could have as easily done so verbally. Rather than offend the Princess he knew was still listening with his amusement on her behalf, the cat jumped light as a feather to the ground and padded his way over. "Eavesdropping are we?" he teased as he rounded the corner to where young Serenity stood with her back against the wall as if she were some great espionage agent. Some agent she made, the cat couldn't help but note to himself. Her skin, dress and hair shine like the full moon. Of course, with all the white and silver of this place, it could work as camouflage to someone unused to deciphering it.

Serenity jumped a little as he came after her, cheeks turning pink at her game being so rudely disrupted. The five-year-old huffed a little, her lips pouting to maximum potential while her chubby fists knotted against her waist. "Was not!" the girl denied with a slightly annoying whine to her voice. "I was... was...."

Artemis simply sat back on his haunches. As much as Bunny–a name only allowed by those close to her, for the girl did truly remind them of a droop-eared bunny with the way she fashioned her hair and the way she scrunched her nose at thing, like vegetables, which she didn't like–could be an angel of a child, she could also be an amazing brat. Such was true of most children, he supposed; a good reason why he despaired of ever having any of his own. All the same, he continued to sit there as the Princess worked up a good excuse for snooping around outside her mother's throne room when the woman had clearly sent away all other parties.

"I was... catching a butterfly!"

"Catching a butterfly." the cat replied in a monotone voice. Had he a human's brow it surely would have arched in question. His blue eyes roamed slowly about the closed-in hallway for any open windows. There were none, and he hadn't expected there would be. "Of course you were."

"I was!" she insisted, the pout forming deeper in her chipmunk cheeks. He knew in time the baby-fat would melt away, especially with how amazingly hyperactive the young princess was, but there were members of the court that feared she got her way with the menu a little too often. If the Princess wasn't moderated more, every meal would consist of cake and candy. Of course, what little girl wouldn't choose that?

Artemis allowed himself a soft chuckle, and thought he could almost hear Luna's voice teasingly calling him a teddy bear. He knew he went easy on the princess a lot, but he couldn't help it. Upset children weren't something Artemis was built to deal with. He shook his head and got to his feet to bump his head against the five-year-old's thigh, "Come along, Bunny-rabbit. The butterfly's gone now and your nanny will be frantic."

"You're no fun Uncle Arty." She whined a little, but came as told. It wasn't too long before something shiny skittered across their path and sent her running away after it. Artemis sighed through his laughter and gave chase.

The dancing, natural lights in the sky outside were usually enough to cheer up the blue-eyed princess, but tonight the miracle of rainbows' foggy light-creatures held no joy for her. Tonight her father lay dying.

* * *

A dull, raspy coughing from the bed brought her sharp eyes back into focus and the girl pulled herself from the window to cast her gaze upon the bed once more. Her mother had been called to the throne room on business from the High Queen and so it was left up to six-year-old Amiru to take care of the man on his death bed. The doctor had long admitted, regretfully, that there was nothing more he could do for his King.

Amiru slid from the window seat, straightening the floor length skirt of her dress with an unconscious gesture before she strode across the room to his bedside. The deep blues and icy whites of the royal chamber, a place not even the Prince and Princess were normally allowed, only seemed to heighten the sick man's pallor now, and Amiru felt her heart drop more heavily in her chest. For all of her six years of life her father had always been a strong, happy man, so full of vitality that he had seemed invincible. Now that shining armor was gone, leaving behind a thin, brittle skeleton of what had been. Another lung-tearing cough shook his form like the last leaf that struggled desperately against the ravages of winter winds. Just as surely as she knew that leaf would soon be blown away, so too would her father's life fly free upon the wind of life into the Nirvana beyond. Not even the mention of that wonderful place he had awaiting him could lift his daughter's spirit, not now.

Silently, the princess lifted the heavy clay pot on the bedside table to pour a glass of cold water for her father. When she had it settled, the girl allowed herself to sit on the bed and lean close to him as she pressed it to his lips. The man drank gratefully, not even batting an eye when some of the liquid accidentally slipped his lip and rolled rivers down his chin and throat. Amiru offered a soft apology, lifting the hem of her skirt in an unladylike fashion to dry his skin.

As she leaned in close, King Arik's arms slowly pushed themselves from the confines of the warm, heavy blankets he'd been piled with. The loose skin that dangled there was the skin of a much older man–as thin as paper and streaked with deep blue veins that were so fragile looking, Amiru was half afraid to touch him for fear of breaking him. Still, these skeletal arms insisted upon wrapping around her tiny form, and Arik drew his daughter against his bony chest.

Minutes went by with nothing more than the raspy, rustling breath between them. Despite the downy blankets and quilts, Amiru was certain she could feel his bones pressing into her arms and sides, and when she turned her face into his neck she could feel the pulse of his blood without having to search for it.

"Daddy!" she wasn't certain the cry had come from her, for she had told herself she wouldn't, but the childish voice and anguish were all too recognizable as her own. Unable to hold the emotional dam any longer, a flood of tears burst forth to wet the man's neck once more. Her form, thin and small as it was, shook his with the force of her sobs as her hands clenched in the blankets and bedclothes he wore about him.

Arik's hands moved as best they could along her back, trying to pet her to ease her discomfort, but the feel of his weak, cold grip where before the hand would have been firm and warm only seemed to enhance the child's misery. "Why?" she sobbed, one harmless fist thumping against his chest. "Don't leave me! Please! I-I'll do anything! Just don't... don't... "

"...My child," Arik finally spoke, and had Amiru looked up at him she would have seen the tears of his own sparkling in the familiar blue depths of his eyes. She didn't, however, and only knew by the pained tone how much this hurt him. Indeed, even talking took so much strength from him anymore, but that was a concept she was too young and naive to grasp. "I know it's hard. I don't want to go, and I wish I didn't have to."

"Why do you have to!" Her voice was muffled in his shoulder, and slurred by tears, but that didn't stop it from being understandable to the man who knew her so well. "Who says!"

"The Gods say, Amiru. Everyone has their time, Little Princess, and this is mine. But know that I will not always be gone. Whether or not you can see me, or touch me, or feel my presence... I will be with you."

The quiet whisper of his voice still held some trace of the familiar man she'd known all these years. Somehow it helped to quiet her tears and still her body. Slowly, the princess regained her breath and lifted her head enough to dry her eyes with one white knuckled fist before she pressed her cheek once more into the sick King's shoulder. "How will you be with me if I can't see you?" she asked finally, her quiet voice jarring the silence she hadn't noticed settling into the room... a strange silence.

For a long moment, Amiru lay there waiting for an answer, trying to brush aside the cold creep from her forehead that told her something had changed in her surroundings. "Daddy?" The question was soft, barely audible, but she knew the man would answer her call; he had to answer.

When he didn't, the cold dread slipped further into her body, wrapping a cool blanket about her heart and forcing her muscles to shift. The little girl slowly pulled herself away from the chest she'd been huddled against, trying not to feel the stiffness of the arms around her that didn't want to budge.

Feel them she did, however, and Amiru stopped struggling. A shaking, only too similar to her father's own leaf-like dance, began to engulf her body and the girl went once more into the grip of those arms, her cheek settling against the corpse's boney shoulder.

Eventually, someone had come along to save her from her father's cadaver. As scared as she was of the stiff, freezing shell of the man she had once known, all parting from it did was throw the young princess back into another fit. In the end, she'd had to be carried out bodily by one of the guards, and put back into her room... alone. Alone with only one cold, snapped order from the insignia-bearing man who, with the corpse's creation, was now the King of Mercury. "Still your tears, the kingdom looks to us for strength!"

Alone in the dark, its mated symbol glowed a desolate blue.

* * *

The barest of dull thunks was all that gave away her position. Brightly plumed birds with hoarse calls and long, sharp beaks didn't even stir as the two-legged creature ran through their nesting branches, nor did any protest even on the occasion that she shook a branch gently beneath her weight. A large, spotted feline with jagged teeth and watchful golden eyes wasn't even inclined to blink as what should have seemed like perfect prey scampered right through the tree. Instead, the creature looked up at the passing wild girl and gave a derisive lick of her paw as if to say how unimpressed she was with the two-legged ability to walk as steadily in a tree as she would have upon the ground. Cats, large or small, were a generally contemptuous lot and so not easily impressed by others, even those they agreed to respect as the rulers of these lands.

For her part, the girl didn't seem to notice. Her deep, tree brown hair was strung through with a mix of green and blue beads of clay and wood, braided and tangled into a series of complicated knots that took some form of strange, natural fashion. Bound tightly, the beads didn't clink to give her away, just as the matching bracelets and anklets on each of her appendages were bound tightly enough to keep from making noise as she ran about. The soles of her feet, stiffened into a hard leather from years of life without shoes, barely showed a dint or scratch even as she ran over the roughly textured limbs.

Coming to a stop straight out of her dead run, the lithe eight-year-old princess let herself drop off the end of a branch to land surely on the soft loam beneath. Next her knees sunk into the heady mixture of soft earth, and then her hands. Crawling close to the ground, a small part of her brain noticed and appreciated the strong scent of it. Most of her attention was on her prey, however.

In the next moment, the princess came up to the short cliff-edge over-looking the vast expanse of the Titan River. On the other side, barely visible as a thin sliver across the haze of slate blue water, she could see the towering spikes of Io Castle. Io was one of the few pronounced cities upon the surface of the planet, and even from this distance it showed. From her position, the princess could imagine that Io's shore was a giant serpent slithering along the surface of the water, with the great castle's spires as its head, poking up to catch the air.

Going between the snake and her own side of the river were small spots (water bugs, she fancied) where ferries and fishing canoes dotted the water's surface. These the princess paid little attention to, for her target was on this side. In fact, the slight pulse from her forehead told her she was near. A moment later the hard touch of wood, not quite painful but enough to keep her from moving, prodded the back of her neck. "You're being reckless, Lita."

"How?" the girl growled in return, rolling onto her back when the pressure lightened. Her emerald eyes turned stormy, even as her sister's matching ones danced with an unnatural light. Literi, referred to commonly as "Lita," didn't mind the touch of cold earth against her mostly bare skin and so chose to stay on the ground for now. A large, hairy tarantula made its way up over the sudden warm object blocking its path, and Literi paid it no mind when it chose to pause a moment over her stomach.

Had one not known whom these girls were by the matching hunter green marks upon their foreheads, one still would have guessed that they were siblings in how very much they looked alike. Some thought the similarities uncommon even for sisters, thus earning Literi's second nickname, "Nanari Jr." The elder sister by three years, Nanari's eleven-year-old body was only a few inches taller than Literi's, and her hair longer in kind. The girls even dressed alike, making certain their leather tied loin clothes were made of similarly pelted doe skin and decorated in matching beadwork. Soon this would have to change, as Nanari's body was finally beginning to develop; soon she would need to add a chest wrap to her wardrobe and offer the first sort of rift between them.

"You shouldn't let the power guide you," Nanari allowed the end of her plainly carved staff rest in the dirt, leaning heavily on it for a moment. Her free hand came up to twirl a loose braid around one long finger as she shrugged to soften her words. "Aunt Narou would have given you a few bruises if she caught you."

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Literi protested, her voice bordering on a whine. Lips turning into a pout, the girl crossed her arms over her bare, flat chest and brushed the spider there. The eight legged creature reared up two of its legs in warning. Unwilling to risk another close brush with death, it scampered off of her and back into the surrounding brush.

"That doesn't matter, you have to learn to control it," the elder sibling reinforced. "I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to save you her beating it into your hide."

"As if she won't anyway." Literi wasn't letting herself be consoled, but she climbed to her feet and shook herself to throw off most of the dirt. "She said the best way for us to learn lessons is to have them scared into us. She's a monster!"

"I'm so glad you think that," a sharp voice cut in. Both girls winced immediately before paired green eyes turned up towards a tree limb partially hidden by the fall of leaves and vines around them. The woman that rested there in a comfortable crouch grinned and it was not a pleasant gesture, rather reminding one of a tiger with cornered prey than any form of merriment. Like a tiger, the woman was trimmed for fighting from the top of her black braided hairdo, to her smallest, dirt coated leather toe. Like the girls she was barefoot, and a loin cloth covered her lower regions. Unlike them, two triangles of cloth held together with a brace of braided cord covered the two tiny breasts upon her chest. Still, there was no doubting the familial resemblance in their faces.

Even were that not there, their relationship would have been known. The insignia of Jupiter glowed strong upon her brow as well, marking her position within the royal house. "She meant no disrespect, Senshi Jupiter." Nanari nodded her head to her Aunt, trying to soothe the woman through formal word and manners.

"Don't speak for the girl, Nanari." Narou cast an emerald glance to her elder niece, then looked back towards the younger. "If you think I'm a monster, Literi, then so be it. You'll thank me for this one day."

Literi snorted, her eyes cutting off to the side. She didn't even look up when Narou's eyes narrowed, and beside her Nanari shifted uneasily. Tension filled the silence between the trio, multiplying until one felt they should duck into the water in order to breath. After several long, insufferable minutes of this, Narou stood and decended lightly from her perch. Taking her own staff in hand she nodded, and set her lips into a hard line. "Nanari, give your sister the staff and leave us. Tell your parents we won't be back for the rest of the week."

"Yes, Aunt." Nanari nodded more deeply. Without a word she pushed the staff towards her sullen sister. Literi's eyes, accusing and hurt, held Nanari's own beseechingly. No help was given, however, and the small girl found herself taking the roughly hewn staff with a deep sense of betrayal. It seemed as Nanari drifted into the forest beyond so too did the rift between them open prematurely. Certainly the small Princess was cold as she returned her attentions back towards their taskmaster aunt.

"Stay sharp!" The order slapped across the second Princess of Jupiter's face as harshly as a willow branch whip. She growled slightly and pressed her hands into the dirt again to pull herself back up. Narou had taken her deep into the jungle where people were few and far between. Even if there had been more company than the animals (who knew better than to push their luck with these two humans) none would have dared to interrupt the training the Senshi Jupiter was giving her growing protégée.

Three days of hard pushing, scavenging and lectures had drawn the young Princess to the last of her strengths and further, yet the elder woman continued to demand more. "I'm tired!" Literi cried out, dropping back into the dust of the little practice area they'd cleared a few days before. Sniffling a little as unbidden tears rose to her eyes, the Princess allowed her forehead to drop against the ground and her arms and legs drew around her. All the while, she continued to shout and a shaking in her voice implied the tears threatening her vision. "My legs hurt, my arms hurt; my whole body hurts! Let me stop! Let me stop!"

Two feet appeared in her line of vision, hard and dusty from their lifelong nakedness, and Literi stiffened. The thought, horrible as it seemed, crossed her mind that the woman was going to kick her. The motion never came, but a terrible silence reigned between them that not even the insects dared to lift. Literi sniffled slightly, and finally began to unwind her arms a little. Timid as a mouse venturing out into a cat's territory, the Princess allowed herself to blink her eyes clear and travel the long distance up to her aunt's face. What she saw there was worse than any anger or abuse the woman could have dealt her.

Disappointment and disgust bathed over the young girl's body in waves, like an ocean lapping upon the shore of a minuscule island. Surely the water would swallow the land beneath it in time, and so Literi dropped her gaze into the sand again. A red wash flushed across her cheeks as an acute embarrassment settled into the very core of her being. Never had anyone looked at her like that; to have it come from the greatest warrior and second most influential person on the planet was even worse.

"Lita," The crisp voice came a moment later, "you cannot stop. That mark upon your forehead signifies the great power you will one day be expected to uphold. You will be called upon to be strong for your people, to lead them despite your own fears or pain. Your enemies will want to hurt you, and they will not let you give up so easily. Do you wish to bow before them and kiss their feet while they plunder and destroy our home?"

Humbled, the girl could do little more than squeeze her eyes shut against the returning tears and shake her head. Clearly, this answer wasn't satisfactory to the elder Senshi.

"Good. Frankly, I'm starting to wonder why the powers chose you at all. You give up too easily, and your anger is generally misplaced. You'd rather cook or clean or play with the flowers than pay attention to your studies and training. Never mind that what I'm trying to teach you here will likely save your and your sister's lives. No, this isn't important at all. You should go back to the palace and relinquish the power to one of your younger siblings. Perhaps the baby will have a spine."

A few half-heard sobs quaked through Literi's body. Her arms drew close around her again and she bent to hide her face in them. While a part of her began to get angry again, the majority was just sorry that she'd pushed her aunt so far. "I-I'm sorr-rr-rry," that part of her stuttered, the sobbing shaking her voice and body even harder.

"Yes. Yes, you are," The woman agreed in a much harder manner than Literi could have imagined. "Even now, you refuse to take this standing up, instead cowering at my feet like a beaten dog. Get up."

It was a few moments, and Narou offered no help, but eventually Literi managed to get to her feet and stood before her, hands shaking at her side with her eyes focused on the woman's feet. A single calloused hand moved to her chin and guided Literi's head up a little. Even more slowly, Literi's eyes rose to meet her elder's. The cold she'd expected was strangely absent, replaced by a guarded sort of warmth. "Finished?"

"Yes, Senshi Jupiter," Literi swallowed her own tears and nodded. Her voice was distant and cool, but that didn't seem to bother her aunt. Instead of offering an explanation or apology, the woman picked up her bo staff and nodded to the girl.

"Let's continue, then."

* * *

Sunlight filtered golden through the russet-and honey coloured trees whose branches arched above the pathways behind the Venusian Palace. Bushes were planted between the tree trunks tried to keep the passersby from wandering off the paths, but that didn't seem to bother the children playing there. Their giggles and whispers were easily overheard by the palace workers and residents that happened to be outside that day, but none paid them too much mind. In truth, it might have been hard to find the children.

Despite the noise they were making, all three of the young royalty blended perfectly into the gold and garnet foliage about them. Their hair, ranging in color from the eldest's russet, to sunshine blonde, and the youngest's platinum gold, blended in with the leaves as their gold tinged skin and brassy clothing blended with the grass and tree trunks. In truth, only their eyes could have given them away. Two of them boasted identical, laughing blue eyes that sparkled with such joy in life that few could remain angry or unhappy around either of the pair. The third, the eldest, had eyes of a deep purple hue, nearly black, that had a tendency to leave people uneasy or afraid. It wasn't that the boy who possessed them had any negative will towards his people, only that those on Venus not normally in the presence of their family still weren't used to the idea of dark eyes. Such features weren't common on this planet, only more recently seen now that Mars and Venus had royal ties to one another.

Prince Wiran, the boy whose dark eyes were currently peeping out from underneath one of the golden hedges, looked more like his father than most of his other siblings. His features, now lined in baby fat, would one day be finely chiseled and square with a good, strong jaw. Currently short, the large portions of his hands and feet and wide features belied a growth spurt yet to come and his hair would likely darken even more drastically than it already had. For all his visible Martian heritage, Wiran had not taken that family's temper to heart as a few of his lighter colored siblings, such as the other boy out with them that evening, had.

On either side of Wiran's eyes, identical sets appeared in the bushes. The practiced eye could make out the differences between them, but even that took a great deal of effort. The owner of the right-hand pair giggled–a high-pitched sound too bubbly to have been a typical male's—and a delicate white hand flew to cover the pink lipped mouth beneath them. "Shhh!" the left-hand pair's mouth chided, though a speckle of violet bubbled within them as they danced in laughter. White-blond curls graced the top of this set, hiding the fact that its lashes were not quite so thick or long as its seemingly matched set; his hand, much rougher than his sister's, brushed the bangs from his face. "Miran! We gotta be quiet!"

The Princess stuck her tongue out. "I know that! Its my plan, remember?"

"Guys," Wiran whined, lips pouting lightly. "Stop fighting."

"We're not," the twins responded with chilling timing. Their identical eyes glanced at one another, then sobered. What they were waiting for seemed to be quite out of sight, for no one was along the path. Prince Eren tucked his arms underneath his delicate chin, so like his sister's, and tried to keep from looking too bored. Boredom about this place, and in this company, was never a good thing. The least mischievous of the trio Eren, when left to his own devices, didn't willingly express a need to be entertained as much as the others. On the other side of Wiran, Miran sat contemplating this as she waited with her siblings for the pair of feet they knew would come. It was more and more difficult to talk the boys into her schemes, as humorous as they were in the end. The seven-year-old knew she had to make it good, or else this might be the last. Raising her hand once more, Miran batted irritably at the soft yellow bangs nearly masking the golden mark upon her brow. It had been most of a year since the power had chosen her, but the girl had yet to feel anything different about the responsibilities her teachers and parents said were now hers. Warren, her elder brother by sixteen years and the named heir to the Venusian throne, said that she would begin to feel it after a time. She had believed him then, but was beginning to doubt.

"I don't see her," Wiran finally complained, his lips twitching into an irritated scowl that Miran had long come to associate with impending mutiny. Her back tensed a little as her mind rushed for something to do. It was just then that there was a snap behind them. Before either of the three could fully register it, hands pressed down into all three of their backs and the children jumped with shouts and yelps of surprise.

Bold laughter greeted their terror, and the three turned to find two of their elder siblings laughing behind them. Whesley, a fourteen-year-old stick figure with cold black eyes and chilling white hair, grinned like the idiot most everyone took him to be. His family knew that he was indeed more of an idiot savant, only inclined to apply himself to a subject when he wished. When he did, however, he excelled beyond anyone's wishes. Beside him stood Michelle, one of the fastest rising Priestesses at the Temple of Aphrodite. Her long raven hair was again a strange note among the Venusians, but her delicate features and gracefully shaped blue eyes made her more exotic than an oddity. Despite being dressed in a Priestess' full regalia, Michelle carried herself with no decorum at the moment, only hiding her laughter behind a single hand.

"Not funny!" Miran huffed, pouting at the both of them as she sat up.

"I disagree, little sister," Whesley smirked, his slur on her title giving it a teasing note. "Very funny."

"Was not," Eren agreed with his twin, glaring up at the elder siblings. "We weren't doing anything to you!"

"Weren't you?" Michelle's smile didn't dissipate, though she let her hand drop back down to fold into the large, long sleeves of her robe. "You're waiting along this path to surprise someone, I'm certain. Whom else would it be but us, innocently on our way from summons?"

"Warren," the three answered in chime, lips pouting in a such a similar fashion that it had to have been a familial trait. Wiran, the more complacent of the three, moved to actually sit up now and began to dust the front of his robes off where they'd been sullied by the grass and dirt. Miran still sat with her arms crossed, holding herself in defiance against the siblings.

"Warren?" Whesley's eyes lit up. "You mean he isn't in the throne room already?"

"The throne room?" The frown on Miran's face disappeared almost instantaneously as this new information sparked a deeper curiosity. Whesley and Michelle exchanged knowing looks. The latter gave a graceful shrug.

"This is why I am in my dress robes. A delegate from the Moon Kingdom arrived yesterday. There is something in his message that the King and Queen asked the Priesthood to investigate."

Miran nodded her understanding, though the small touch of information only left her longing for more. After all, it was a rare day when a missive from the High Queen was questioned as much as this must have been. Not only that, but Michelle herself being called upon to serve her own family in a fashion which made her temporarily forget her familial bonds was a thing that the Priesthood was normally loathe to do. Family was of grave importance to Venusians, but a Priestess of royal blood had to choose between one path or the other lest she be swayed by her ties.

"Speaking of which, I should be headed on. When we heard you three, I couldn't help but stop... however..."

"We understand," Wiran nodded. He gave his sister a smile and all four them bowed to her when she moved to slip through the hedge and back to the path beyond. Having decided to stay, Whesley settled down in the grass with his younger siblings. Miran let herself relax now that they knew Warren was likely not to be coming as they'd thought. She turned herself instead to combing the leaves out of her hair with her fingers as her brothers turned their eyes towards her. At first, the Princess didn't notice, but slowly the eyes upon her got her attention.

"So, he wasn't coming," Wiran said softly. He didn't voice his thoughts on the issue, but his tone was clear enough–Wiran's confidence in her leadership had gone from questioned to broken. The blue eyes of her own twin echoed as much, even as Eren said nothing. The two boys looked at one another, before they got to their feet. Miran started to follow, but their combined gaze stopped her again. As one, Wiran and Eren headed out through the hedge and to the path beyond.

It seemed like such an insignificant event, but Miran knew better. She'd long since taken control of the trio since Whesley had come of age and taken his place among the Scholars. At first everything had gone perfectly, but more and more her plans had come out wrong. This was simply the last drop in the barrel. "Well," Whesley said beside her, one boney hand moving to cover her knee in a familiar manner. "That was certainly pleasant wasn't it?"

The sardonic sort of humor normally worked on Miran, but now all she could think of was her failure as a leader. The symbol marking her forehead throbbed, a dull premonition of things to come. She'd felt this before, at similar situations through the years, but had never fathomed its meaning. Now, made clear in this sudden, strange sense of loss, Miran knew that she had felt a touch of the responsibility that would come later in life. She would be expected to lead her people in war and hardship. Yet, she found herself unable to properly lead a small group of her own blood. For the first time this power that had long filled her young body was strange to her, and she wondered if she'd truly be able to fulfill her destiny, or if the power would run to one of her younger siblings as it had done to her upon her birth?

* * *

It had been a long, mentally and physically exhausting journey. Artemis had gone from planet to planet, palace to palace, handing out missives and giving long explanations. His "overnights" on each planet had turned to week (or several weeks) stays and the travel between places could take months at a time. Even with the ship's onboard Jump Drive, the distance between the planets near the end of their system was too great. On top of these setbacks, Artemis had to admit that he'd only added to his problems when he'd refused to skip the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It was hard not to pass the remains of what had been Mau, the planet he and Luna had escaped from in their kitten-hood. It had been destroyed by an evil whose name had fallen into taboo years before the final war on Mau's surface, and no true child of their species would be able to miss a chance to see their planet and pay respects to what had been. Time had healed what bruises his young mind had acquired from the experience, however, and so it didn't darken his voyage too much.

Now that he was leaving Pluto's atmosphere, Artemis stretched himself out, long blond hair brushing the back of his legs before his form began to shift. Moments later a white cat settled into the chair he'd abandoned, and Artemis turned his shoulders back to groom his side. He'd not had much time to enjoy his cat form, a nuisance of diplomatic work. While those of the Moon Palace respected his animal nature, not many elsewhere were too familiar with the thought of human speech coming from a cat–or with the idea of taking a talking cat seriously. Because of this, he had confined himself to humanoid form so that he would not have to deal with the questions his feline self would ultimately raise. The Plutonian Princess, however, was long familiar with the oddities of the universe and Artemis himself; before her alone he had no reason to hide.

"Artemis." Sometimes it was unsettling how the thought of Setserin generally brought her presence. The cat tried not to let this show as he turned his pristine face towards the door she'd just come through. The mysterious child of Pluto was undoubtedly gorgeous, even at fifteen. Her black hair, tinted a slight green in the light of the cabin, was tied back into a bun at the nape of her neck, with a few wisps left to frame that delicately shaped jaw. The woman's large, uneasy red eyes matched the dress she was currently wearing, and seemed to look deep into Artemis's very soul. "I was going over the missive the Queen sent with you. Is she certain she wishes to do this?"

The cat sighed. Dropping his head upon his fore paws, Artemis let his gaze wander for a moment before turning a rather resolute look upon the Princess. He'd been asked that question so many times it was beginning to be unbearable; he was only glad that they didn't know the real reasons prolonging this decision. "Yes, Setserin, the Queen is certain. In seven years a court will be formed of the Senshi."

His bored tone would have discouraged any other from questioning him, at least at that moment, but Setserin was not deterred. Stepping further into the cabin, the Princess shut the door behind her before moving to take the seat directly across from Artemis's own. "It goes against all of our set traditions. The Senshi are supposed to protect their homelands, not the High Queen's daughter."

"Setserin, I know that as well as you do," Artemis chided. He raised his head again, eyes fixing once more upon the princess with a tired irritability that was certainly not his wont with anyone he was less comfortable with. Her, however, he had no qualms in showing his true emotion towards. "However, times change. Has the Queen not put a stop to the wars between the planets? Has she not better organized the defense of trade routes between the planets, and lowered tariffs and taxes all around?"

"She has," Setserin agreed without reluctance.

"So, when a woman so obviously chosen by the Gods to be a great Queen and leader–a woman who has already changed many ingrained traditions–decides that another change must be made, why should we question it? The Queen wishes to create stronger ties between all her solar system. It's a wonder that no one before thought of this. If the Senshi come together in a form of System security, rather than secular, the social tension between kingdoms should relax even further. It's as much a test of trust as it is a smart political move."

"I suppose," Setserin frowned. There was obvious doubt there, the sort of deep grained distrust that all the royals had expressed toward this plan. Traditions were held so dear to heart, it was going to be a fight to change them, even further than the one the white cat had already fought. Still, he hoped the Princesses–at least the four who were to be in the main court–could see past their political differences and get along. It was going to be a strange journey.

Artemis turned his attention towards the porthole of the great spaceship Moon's Rising. There was hardly anything but deep ink and white star blots to see, but he imagined that he could see a deeper shade of black out there, moving and coiling in the chilling depths of space. What was this blackness the Oracles had all spoken of? On this point, even his own feline curiosity abandoned him to be replaced by a fear he knew laid buried in the asteroid belt of Mars.

* * *

That a seven-year-old had been chosen was not an issue. That a seven-year-old had been chosen in such a dramatic fashion was an issue, but not in so bad a light as one might first assume. The priests, though saddened by the thought of losing the prodigy they'd expected to soon have in their midst, were overjoyed by the omens her choosing seemed to indicate. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that the vision-dragon was a symbol of luck, were they to accept the repositioning of power in the royal house–not that they would have much choice about it. Undoing what the Gods had undoubtedly decided for themselves was not something the royals could order be undone; not without causing a religious rebellion among the common folk. It seemed only right, then, that the crown be passed on to Ranfan, as she was next in line and the last chosen Senshi.

None of this really mattered to Rayna, whose only concern at the moment was that the dragon had ceased to come to her and that she was at rest. They had let her truly rest eventually, after she'd retold the account of that day's visions more times than she cared to remember it, and even tried to let her sleep late. Rayna didn't sleep, though.

Three days later, just as she usually did, Rayna woke when the sun was barely more than a grey line on the horizon to find a bird cawing at the single window of her bedroom. She turned, inspecting the crow that had come to perch on the slight window sill offered on the other side of the glass. Crows were in vast number at the castle, and all the religious temples on Mars, but somehow this seemed more important. Was her life now to be nothing but omens? Rayna couldn't help a small sigh for this, nestling her cheek further into the pillow beneath her. "What do you want?" The child sulked, watching the bird as it bobbed its head about. She possessed no deep knowledge of animals, much less birds in particular, but the girl couldn't help feeling as if it were taking a better look at her. "I'm not opening the window, if that's it."

The crow tapped at the glass again and Rayna leveled an amethyst glare at him. Another harsh cry from the bird mingled with a slight rapping at her door, and at first Rayna didn't notice. Eventually it broke into her mind, and she started. That, too, was becoming annoying quite fast. "Come in," she said softly, knowing that no one save their maids and her immediate family would come to her door at any time other than an emergency.

The door opened without a squeak, and Ranfan's curly-haired visage peeked through the crack. Rayna sat up a little, leaning back on one unclothed white elbow and didn't bother to draw the blanket up over her nude, flat chest. Nudity was one of the things not censored on Mars, at least between those of the same gender, and thus Rayna felt no shame of it now. Remembering the strange anger in Ranfan's eyes the night before, Rayna truly couldn't get herself to speak at all.

Her elder sister stepped inside and shut the door dutifully behind her. For a moment the girl of eight stood with her hands against the cool wood, her eyes lowered in thought. The two were almost like twins, in body and bond, for they had been best friends for as long as anyone could remember and rarely separated from one another willingly. It was only now that Rayna felt she could really see the differences between one she had begun to think of as an extension of herself.

Ranfan's hair, natural curls carefully tamed into loose waves, flowed around her and tapered off into an easy slope about her waist. Generally the bangs were just held back by a ribbon colored to match her dress, but today Ranfan had let them flow naturally to cup the face that was shockingly similar to Rayna's own. So too were the eyes, when Ranfan finally looked up towards the girl still perched upon her bed. Though a few shades darker, Ranfan's seemed to glow with the same seriousness that was more commonly found in Rayna's. Another feeling of foreboding slipped into Rayna's still form and she found her lips pursing a little.

"You should probably let him in," Ranfan said softly, her eyes looking to the bird still waiting at the window. "They don't take kindly to being shut out, and they're always rather drawn to..."

From the way she trailed off, the reason behind it wasn't too hard to figure out, at least not to one who knew her well. "Oh Ranfan…" Rayna murmured softly, moving a hand to reach out towards her sister. The other didn't pull away, which was a good sign. After a moment she moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed.

Ranfan gave her a wry smile, "The power never wanted me, but since I'm older and a fire-starter they presented me to it instead of you."

"And I was supposed to be a priestess," Rayna continued softly. For a long moment the girls looked at one another, then Ranfan drew the blankets back and slipped under them with her sister. She let her hair mix with Rayna's straight black mass and they both lay on their backs to stare up at the cloth covered roof of the younger sister's bed canopy. Slowly Ranfan's hand moved to find Rayna's and their fingers entwined as the signal and its familiar, warming heat spread upon both their brows.

"You'll be the Queen," Rayna said softly as what her change of status fully meant for her sister finally occurred to her. She offered a gentle squeeze to Ranfan's hand and was rewarded with one in kind. Though she couldn't see it, the girl beside her nodded in turn.

"And you shall be my Warrior," Ranfan said softly. "I always knew that the power wasn't mine to keep. I don't know how I knew, but I did... It warms my heart to think of you at my side always, my sister."

"I'll do my best for you," Rayna promised, though a small, cold feeling in her heart belied a feeling that this ideal they shared wouldn't be so easy to keep. In truth, the dragon still played upon her mind, and while she longed to ask her sister what she thought of it, Rayna found that once more her tongue had frozen on the matter. Instead she kept this coldness to herself, feeling that her sister had had more than enough disappointment for now, especially when Rayna couldn't be sure what this new feeling was meant to be about. This feeling of leisure wouldn't last long, that was for certain, but for now it was her hope, laying with her sister, safe in the world they always knew, and content in the delusion that she would serve at her sister's side for the rest of her days.


	2. Chapter One

_**Author's Note:** This chapter should help clear names up. If not, there is now going to be a glossary of names and term, and, I anyone requests it, relations at the bottom of each chapter. Rae_

**Chapter One**

"Our First Days"

A chill that had nothing to do with the howling blizzard outside prickled spots across her porcelain skin. The ceremony that had only just ended had left her Aunt, the former Senshi Mercury a well respected Duchess, and thus taken Amiru herself from the confines of student to the public eye as their Guardian. That she would one day be so, Amiru had know; that it had come at such a young age was terrifying. In the mirror stood a woman where a young girl should have been. Thirteen wasn't a mature age, and yet the weight of maturity had been settled upon her shoulders. To her own eyes, Amiru could think that her body had aged years in the course of a few uncomfortable hours, even as she knew that the idea was ludicrous.

The high skirted uniform was strange to her, but not for being unused to it. Her Aunt had worn it Amiru's entire life, and she'd seen it in all the paintings of her predecessors. What was unusual to her was wearing something so revealing. Another chill ran across her, and the gem on Amiru's tiara flashed. A faint blue glow left her body like a rain falling upon the ground at her feet and with it went the Senshi uniform. In its stead, the young woman was left in the long, full skirts and tight corset she was used to. Her long hair bound itself back into the beaded net it was kept in, and in a blink of an eye there was almost nothing to indicate that she'd ever stood as anything but the Princess of Mercury. Everyone knew better, however, and the mark on her forehead related that fact.

Turning at last from the mirror, Amiru took a few careful steps towards her bedroom window. She sat upon the seated sill and let her forehead touch the freezing pane. Cold no longer bothered her as much as it should have. Even when she was only a student her power had protected her, but now that the full force of the Senshi power was hers to command the pane that would have given anyone else cold-burn was nothing but a pleasant chill to her. At least this chill was substantial, as opposed to what lay within her heart.

Not a moment after the Ceremony had ended, King Aqui, her brother whom had ascended the throne not too long after their father's death, had held the court longer to make a shocking announcement. The High Queen Serenity had made a world-changing proclamation. The Senshi were no longer property of their respective planets. While they were still royal children, their new duty was to the future High Queen, the now High Princess Serenity and the well being of all their kingdoms. From a purely logical stand point, Amiru could understand why this was a smart move for the Queen. However, her heart hung heavy at the thought that all she had been raised and trained to know suddenly seemed moot.

Not only this, but her own rise to power had been more than what her teacher had first told her. The ex-Senshi Mercury had been emphatic on the point that she was stepping down early thanks to Amiru's amazing take to her own powers. Now she knew, or had an idea, that this decision had been rushed more because in three days time Amiru was to board her ship to the Moon Kingdom–her new home. Leaving this place, against her own will at that, was enough to make the fragile young woman sick to her stomach. This she did not show to her brother, court or the Dowager Queen that sat in high regard at the King's right hand. To them she had simply curtsied and accepted her position even as her insides coiled and turned to ice.

Alone in her room, the Senshi Princess cried.

Three days was a very short time for goodbyes, especially when one wasn't certain they would be coming back any time soon. That was all the time she had been allotted, however, and Amiru had no say in that matter. As Senshi it was her duty to do as her King told her, and her King was telling her to shift her loyalties to someone else. It went against the grain, yes, but it was simply what must be. Shoving that sadness under a rock of logic, the Princess of Mercury boarded the _Ice Titan_, the ship that had been hers since her father presented it to her when she was five, and nodded to the captain. The crew, of course, was not the same after all these years, but it'd only changed once. Each member had been selected for their families loyalty to the crown, and each knew the quiet, secular little Princess quite well. In turn she'd never had to search her memory for their names, though friendship could not be said to be a part of this bond.

Two new cabin boys, freshly signed from the Captain's own family, hauled aboard the luggage Amiru's maids had packed for her. Most of what she was bringing had already been stored away in the cargo hold. These articles would be in her private cabin with her.

On the deck, Amiru stopped and turned to stand by the rail. Her long white hands graced the equally delicate looking railing of blue-painted wood. It had been fashioned to look like ice crystals growing along the edge of the ship, but an actual rail had been laid behind it for hand holds. Her blue gaze swept across the port, focusing on the cheering faces of the people she'd grown to love, running up the flowing streets of Harinasole to the sweeping spires of the Marina Castle. Home, but never again.

Amiru squared her shoulders and let a small, shy smile grace her lips. Her hand lifted, waving politely to the whole city who had come to see her off. She had expected more people to be in turmoil in this great change of tradition. Thankfully, few questioned what the High Queen dictated. Of course she had the Priesthood backing her up on this. What it was that they saw, Amiru couldn't say, but she trusted it was right.

"Amiru," A deep voice sounded at her side, and heavy hand touched upon her shoulder. Amiru turned to see her brother standing at her side, and the crowd cheered more boldly for their King. The young woman smiled as much as was polite in public and gave her brother a bare tip of a curtsy. Aqui nodded to her, his own smile curbed to a polite air. "This change in your duties was unexpected, and perhaps it comes as a bad omen to you. Know, however, that at this court you represent all of us for those who would have Mercurians be a cold, barbaric people. Please, keep this in mind as you serve your new Mistress. While I have lost a Guardian, I hope to be gaining an ambassador."

His words were a slight comfort that she would have some link to her old home. Here was solace that even when her duty was away with the Queen, she still belonged in part to her family so that link would not have been severed so completely. A small light of hope sparked within her, and she nodded slightly, "Yes, my liege. I will do my best to serve my home in this way. Though my body and duty may belong elsewhere, my heart shall always be Mercurian."

King Aqui gave her an appreciative smile and then turned his little sister's shoulders gently. The much older man bent to hug her, and planted a familial kiss upon her brow. This display of affection caused the crowd to cheer once more. Shouts from the crew signaled that the galleon was almost ready to disembark. "Take care, Amiru."

"And you too, dear brother," Amiru whispered softly. She watched as her brother and his guards descended the plank and it was drawn up onto the deck again. The Captain moved up to the bow to take his place beside the helm. No one minded when Amiru chose to keep her place at the starboard railing, out of the way of the sailing crew. These men and women would be her guards and company for the next few weeks as they traveled to the Moon Kingdom, for she'd not been allowed to bring any other guardian along with her. She wished her logical mind didn't smell a trap, but a part of her did. There was something no one was saying about this court they had volunteered her for, Amiru was sure of it. The tantalizing, evasive question of "what" would linger upon her mind during the long space voyage.

* * *

"Princess, the Uranian ship is approaching from the starboard bow." The first mate of the _Jungle's Heart_ paused halfway down the ladder into the cargo hold. The Princess she was looking for was supposed to have been down collecting some provisions the cook had requested, but there was no sign of her in the darkness down here. The woman's heels remained hooked on the rail even as she leaned outward to get a better look. Most of the sailors Literi had known had the disquieting habit of being able to walk down a ladder as if they were proper stairs, something that had yet to come naturally to the teenage Princess.

"I'm here," Literi finally acknowledged her caller after a moment, standing from where she'd been crouched behind a barrel of apples. Holding the large clay bowl she carried against her hip, Literi finished putting a few more of the bright red fruit into the vessel and turned towards the ladder herself. "Have they hailed us?"

The first mate nodded. Tatiaris was her name, Literi remembered after a moment. She was a beautiful woman, long of leg and arm with a gorgeous mane of violet-black hair and matching slanted eyes. Judging from the accent, Literi thought the woman hailed from the forest moon of Sinope. In fact, the resemblance to the Senshi Sinope, Urak was so strong, Literi guessed that it might have been one of his sisters. Woolgathering aside, Literi followed Tatiaris up the ladder again as she replied, "They have. It seems they had a slight run in with pirates as they were passing Saturn. Their ship sustained some damage, and they mean to stop at Io for repairs."

"What does this have to do with us?" The fourteen-year-old replied, accepting Tatiaris's hand in getting out of the cargo hold. Together the women closed the hatch and Literi settled her bowl back on her hip. She needed to drop the apples off with the cook, however this didn't seem to be the kind of problem that could wait. No matter that she was to be considered a co-captain of this ship in political aspects, most of the crew didn't bother to treat her as anything other than a fellow sailor when it wasn't important. As such, Tatiaris never would have sought her out when she was serving the cook if this wasn't something that couldn't be resolved without her.

"As you're being brought to the Moon Kingdom, so is Prince Hoku. They're already behind schedule, and stopping for repairs will only make them more so. They wish to make their request to your person, however, Princess."

"Lita," Literi eyed the woman who had long become her friend. She nodded after the woman agreed; it wasn't hard to see what the request was. Indeed, Literi wasn't disappointed when she reached the Captain's quarters where a crystal screen displayed the group of men no doubt standing in a similar room on the other ship.

The one to the left was a first mate, like Tatiaris, there was no question of it. For all that he was dressed nicely, there was a deference in his very posture that the woman on her own side echoed. Some things, such as basic human nature, transcended nationality and race; that much Literi had learned quite well during her tutelage under her Aunt. Thought of the stern woman who had so recently renounced her power only doubled in strength when Literi's gaze shifted to the broad shouldered man on the other side of the screen. His stern, almost bird like features reminded her of Narou without any real reason behind it. The two looked nothing alike, but perhaps it was more in the serious glint of his eyes and the set of his wide, thin lipped mouth.

Age had marked this man, wearing tunnels into his squared jaw and cheek bones. Sun had speckled his skin and bleached the little of his hair that she could see sticking out from underneath the white crowning cap on his head. He was a good head taller than both of the other men, and about as wide as the two of them put side by side. Even without the formal looking lace lining his over robe, Literi would have marked him for the captain. That left the teen in between the two as Prince Hoku. She'd heard a lot about the two Senshi Princes that had appeared in this generation, but to meet one was a moment of awe.

Outwardly there was nothing too remarkable about Hoku. He was handsome, with short fair hair and baby blue eyes, but not so handsome that he'd stand out among a crowd. His height was fairly average, at least by Jupiter's standards, and shoulders broad but not half as bulky as the captain's were. She knew better than to be fooled by his adverage appearance, however.

Guardian, or Senshi power was rarely given to men. No one knew precisely why it had become a female trait, though some theologists speculated that it was to balance the power of men. When the tradition had begun, most of the planets were ruled by men singularly. Even now, some planets such as Mercury and Uranus kept the tradition of male rulers; when a king would die, his Queen became Dowager and the eldest son was named the King. In the event that no son was available, the Crown Princess's husband would rule, or the King's brother would step in for him. Jupiter itself was the exception to this rule. Though their patron deity was male, Zeus's great love of women had shown itself in their deep tradition of Female rulers. Never had a King of Jupiter been allowed to rule solely, and it was noted as being the only kingdom to accept homosexual rulers. (In truth, lesbianism among the Queens was something held in high regard. Of course, unlike most of the other kingdoms, shape shifting was a common talent among the Amazons of Jupiter, thus explaining how the current rulers of the planet were both female yet had a plethora of children.)

Still, Literi was smart enough to know that one exception wasn't enough to change a rule, but it was enough to amend it. Perhaps that was why males were, eventually, allowed to wield the power of the Senshi. It was still a rare occurrence, and more often then not as soon as a sister came along, the male bearer would pass the power to her or the power would willingly leave in favor of her. When the males kept their powers, however, it came with consequence. This "consequence" being something Literi was familiar with: shape shifting. In taking Senshi "form," as they called the allowance of the full power to course through your veins, the power would temporarily transmute its male carrier into a female. The effect was said to last for hours or days after the fact, thus making these individuals more than a mere male or female in the eyes of many. Certainly, they were respected as well as feared by most men for their willingness to give up their own masculinity.

Her speculations as to whom held what office were confirmed momentarily when Hoku took a step forward and bowed to the crystal screen, "Good day, Princess. I thank you for your gift of time."

The younger girl couldn't help but smirk. The Prince's Jupetese was awkward, but understandable. She knew how to speak Inersteller, also called the "common tongue," but decided it would be rude of her to switch when he'd offered to put himself at a disadvantage for her sake. "Good wishes to you as well, Prince of Uranus. I hope your fight went well."

"My soldiers are strong, and we were not to be taken by such cowardly individuals. Indeed, at first sign of trouble they turned and ran. However, we were not strong enough, it seems. My ship has taken damage and is in sore need of repair."

Literi nodded, though she'd already heard this much. It was good to hear the words from him. As Hoku righted himself out of his bow, his blue eyes flashed up at her, perfectly clear in the crystal's side, and Literi felt herself blush. He was very handsome, she amended her earlier thought on the subject, and swallowed before she replied, "The nearest port you'll find is on Io. I see no reason as to why you shouldn't be allowed to take port there."

"Thank you for your reassurance, Princess, there is a more pressing matter we wished to ask of you, however. I was on my way, as are you, to attend the Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom. I was prepared to send word of my late arrival or charter a ship from Io in order to try and make port in the time alloted when we spotted your ship on the _Sand King's_ scanner. I thought that I might ask, Prince to Princess, if it would be possible to beg passage on your own ship? I don't come empty handed, of course. I have supplies on board that you're free to have in payment."

Literi smirked, shifting the laden bowl she was carrying and nodded, "We're fit for a good trip, in truth, though I'll have our supply manager go it over. After all, it wouldn't due to run out or let your own parishables go to waste in port."

"Is this a yes, then?" Hoku teased, much to Literi's surprise. Such behavior was nearly unheard of, however he hadn't missed his mark, the Princess found she appreciated it. It was always hard for her to keep up the sterile politeness of courtiers, she was much more inclined to speak her mind as bluntly as possible. That was what a Senshi's place was supposed to be–a warrior, not a politician. Trying not to focus on this change of what she had thought would be, Literi offered Hoku a grin instead.

"It is," She nodded, "We'll slow for now to allow the transfer to be made when you catch up. Do hurry, Cook will have dinner done shortly."

"Yes Princess, thank you very much." Hoku bowed again before the crystal went blank. Literi's cheeks flushed again when she found both her Captain's and Tatiaris's eyes upon her. The women grinned after a moment, and the Captain shook her head. As they turned to leave the stateroom, Tatiaris said nothing, save, "You'd best get those apples to the Cook and inform her there'll be at least one more mouth to feed."

Literi knew she was right and hurried after. Let those two believe what they wished about her reason for agreement, she knew they were innocent. Of course, he was very handsome.

* * *

The Martian warship, _Rising Phoenix_, was one of the first to appear in the silvery sky of the small Moon Kingdom. Being one of the closest of the planets, at least at that time of year, it was unlikely the red planet's representative would be the last one to arrive. Rayna wasn't certain if this was a good thing, as much as she knew she'd be damning herself had she been "late." With the jump points built between kingdoms, it was possible for the trip to take a mere month where it would have taken several of straight travel. That same, bitter part of her wished that jumps had never been invented.

They had come out of the jump point a day's travel from the moon itself. From here she could see not only the Moon Kingdom, but the Earth itself. She had traveled many times between Mars and Venus, but each time she'd managed to miss the misty blue planet. Wether it was coincidence or purposely scheduled, Rayna had been glad for it. The Earth was another of the kingdoms Mars had ill relations with. While their relations with one another wasn't as volatile as the situation with Mercury, it was still something that wasn't lightly picked at. Mercury had rather strong ties to Earth, and many Martian fugitives had taken refuge on Earth as well. It wasn't as politically damning as the leaders of a civil war, but not something easily overlooked, either. Yet, Earth remained the major trade nexus of the inner planets, and so outright war with them would have been even more foolish than the harboring of criminal elements.

Rayna took her time examining this planet now that she'd finally gotten the chance. The revelation that she was to be a part of a court and not at her sister's side had been a dual one. On one side was the heartbreaking realization that she would never be able to fulfil her unspoken promise to Ranfan. On the other lay the need to see these places she'd studied from afar so long. Upon the power's choosing of her, Rayna had rarely been allowed to leave her sister's side. Even on their summer vacations to Venus, the two had always gone together. If Ranfan was sick and unable to go, Rayna was made to stay with her. This enforcement on their bond had strained it, causing the girls to grow more apart than they might have originally. The relief Rayna felt at being let go was a burden in itself, but one that she was not yet ready to face.

Instead, she shook her head to clear the spider's tangle of thoughts, and refocused her attention on that brilliant blue gem floating large in the spacial darkness beside the silvery Moon. The white swirls across it must have been clouds, she decided, and the speckles of green and blue were landmass. Of all the kingdoms to study, Earth had been one of her favorites. Not for their rocky relationship, as she told her parents to get them to agree to the books she requested, but for the fact that this planet harbored the most cultures in the known system. Every other planet in the system had a single language, a single culture, a single ruler. Earth, however, was a like a System within a single Planet. They had their own High King, whom the rest of the System referred to the King of Earth. Underneath him, there were four other sets of rulers, one each for four split territories on the large continent of Earth. (Rumors were that Earthen Scholars said the continent was beginning to split into two. It wouldn't split in full for a million years or more, but they were certain it would happen. Most people put this down to insanity, nothing more.)

The five areas were split into rough directions; one ruling family for each, and a whole gaggle of courtiers beneath them, as well as their own culture and language. It was strange to a foreigner such as Rayna, but at the same time it seemed almost as efficient a way of dealing with excess royal children as what the Martian family had put into place. The Gods knew that Martians were known for their belief in large families, especially among the ruling class. In contrast, the Earthen royal family–the High Royal Family–had only two children. Even then, the younger child, a girl whose name most of her people didn't even know, was kept under wraps. It was said that the Earthen King had entered a marriage contract with the Queen of Sol, the Sun Kingdom that had long since closed itself off to the rest of the System after a series of brutal wars that had left many feelings bruised if not bittered forever. Two children had been produced of the alliance, one for each kingdom.

It was rumor only, thus far, for few had seen the supposed younger sister of the Prince, and no one spoke of any other Queen but Aeris ever sitting upon the Earthen throne. It was notable, however, that she'd been proven barren and was publically pronounced as Endymion's step mother. Despite what could have been seen as a public embarrassment, the Jade family was well loved among their people.

It was during these reflection that Rayna first noticed the dark shape coming from the Planet. As her own ship turned to round the side of the Moon to where the port would be, her viewing angle turned so that she could see this shape was indeed a ship like her own. The lines of power stemming from its nose–visible only to a select few, even among the Senshi–were a bold orange-brown that glittered like gems. She imagined that had it a smell it would be deep, damp loam freshly churned in a farmer's field. With that information, she knew it was one of the Earth's own ships and not a trading fraction or pirates. The sails and flag said that it was the royal family's ship. As such, Rayna guessed it was the Prince himself, come to pay his respects to their juvenile Princess.

"Princess," The voice broke her attention on the window, and she turned to find a man standing at the door to her state room. One of Rayna's sharp black brows arched delicately in question. "We're about to enter the Moon's atmosphere. The Captain thought you would like this notice to prepare yourself."

"Thank you, Luitenant," Rayna bowed to him and waited for the man to leave her quarters before she let her attention wander once more. Her new home awaited, and new wonders and cultures to study were at her very fingertips. Was it so bad that this prospect excited her?

* * *

The silvery light that embodied the moon's entire planet seemed not to come from the yellow sun, but rather radiate from the planet itself. That fact was at once whimsical and terrible to the Earthen Prince as he looked outside his cabin window. They had just pulled into port beside a dark ship dressed in the stark red and black that could only belong to Mars, the same ship they'd spotted coming in just before them, he didn't doubt. For a moment the commotion on both ships distracted him from what he'd come below deck for when a knock at the door pulled him back into the moment.

"I wonder why you bother knocking anymore, Kun," Endymion half turned from the window to grab his formal tunic and slip his arms into it. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the first of his generals already standing in the doorway watching him. Kunzite was a frightening man, even to those who had known him as long as Endymion had. His fair coloring, and long hair meant nothing when compaired to his tall, muscular build and the sharp looks he was known to give. If that wasn't enough, Endymion had seen Kunzite make hardened criminals cry and beg with little more than one of those looks. It was when the looks failed that things got truly ugly.

"Call it a lingering since of politeness," Kunzite stated flatly, taking a step into the room. The door didn't close behind him, however, as a blonde haired body blocked its closure long enough to jump onto Kunzite's back. Jadeite's arms wrapped about the elder man's shoulders and stuck a saliva wetted finger in his ear. Endymion hid his smile as Kunzite added onto his statement in an irritated monotone, "Despite other's efforts to kill it."

"It's probably a good thing he doesn't know that was dog spit, huh?" Jadeite stage-whispered to Endymion. That he was intentionally provoking Kunzite was obvious to both men, but it got the desired effect anyway. With a gag of disgust, Kunzite flipped Jadite off of his back and let him hit the ground. There was a resolute thump indicating how hard Jadeite likely hit the floor, but the blonde laughed anyway. Endymion rolled his eyes, a slight chuckle indicating his amusement. Such an exchange was not uncommon amongst the five of them, and indeed Endymion was grateful for it. They had been as brothers growing up, a fact that had never changed when they'd become older and accepted more individual responsibilities. They were his companions and trusted advisors, as they always would be.

He lifted a brow at the two still standing–more appropriately, one standing and the other laying on the floor–near the door, "Where are Nephrite and Zoisite?"

"Nephrite and the ship's astronomer as attempting to finish that debate they started last night before we leave, and Zoisite got roped himself into helping the crew dock," Kunzite reported dutifully. His cold eyes grazed over Endymion's half dressed body and he shook his head, "And I came to make certain you were ready."

Endymion tried not to blush at the hidden reprimand and nodded instead. "I'll be ready by the time they finish docking." As if to emphasize his promise, Endymion wrapped a sash around the tunic and underlying loose pants to tie them in place.. The style of Central Earth, Endymion's hailing sector, was considered plain by his general's standards, but Endymion rather preferred it to some of the more elaborate contraptions his companions suffered through on formal occasions. Today, however, they were dressed in their Companion's Uniforms, each slate grey and high collared with lining the color of their family's crest.

Kunzite moved to help Endymion with his cloak, both deciding it was a better idea to leave off the armor and weapons, no matter if they were traditional. When that was done, the Prince went to a mirror to do his own hair. Jadeite had removed himself from the floor during this and taken up vigil, spread on his stomach across Endymion's bed. The silence was comfortable, the kind of silence born of true friendship, and it wasn't until the door opened again that anyone bothered to speak.

"Ship's docked, and Nephrite is waiting up deck for us. You'd think he and Socrates were joined at the hip," Zoisite laughed as he shut the door behind him. The three inside the room nodded, and Kunzite and Jadeite got up from their relaxed positions to smooth their uniforms out. Zoisite himself looked like he'd stopped to change and brush his long, fine blonde hair out. Over one of his arms was a heavy weight of cloaks. Two of these he passed out to Jadeite and Kunzite before flipping the third about his own shoulders and tied the built in helm and mouth cover over his face. This last edition was a custom of the Central Earth soldiers, something the Companions had picked up for their own a few years back. Normally Endymion would have joined them in this, but here he needed to have his face shown.

"Speaking of waiting for us, though she's not, it seems the Princess from Mars is still onboard her ship," Zoisite mentioned as the four of them headed out of the cabin and up onto the poop deck. Behind him, Endymion couldn't help but see Jadeite stiffen in warning. Rather than say a word, however, he let it slide. He knew he was about to see the darker side of the playful blonde, but the thought that had just crossed his mind was too good a political move to pass up. Long had Mars and Earth had touchy relations, Jadeite's family being a portion of that, but this new Court had a significant purpose to further lighten the air between planets and strengthen the peace that High Queen Serenity had worked most of her life to obtain.

"That's an interesting note, Zoi," Endymion murmured to the man. His distracted tone got the attention of his three companions–four, as Nephrite had joined them when they reached the ship's deck though Endymion hadn't noticed–and they found their Prince's gaze drawn to the city laid stretched beyond the harbor. They'd seen the Moon Kingdom once or twice already, yet it was hard not to be awed every time. The silver light that radiated from everywhere and no where at all was simply magnified by the crystal looking building structure most everything was made of. As far as the eye could see, white and silver buildings flowed and spiraled into one another. Occasionally, equally white trees with translucent leaves would pop up between buildings, or there would be a different building material dotted in for a strange splash of color. Even more interesting to the unfamiliar eye was that anything near those color wells acted as a prism would, soaking up the pigment and fracturing it into rainbows and hues that ran rivers through the city. It was a truly entrancing sight.

Endymion tore his sight away from the harbor and attempted to refocus his thoughts on the idea he'd had a moment before. That was when he focused on a much different, but nonetheless beautiful sight. Martian colors were something he recognized through intelligence reports and study, but he'd never been really close to a true blooded Martian. Now, however, the ship directly next to them was full of them, one in particular drawing his attention.

There was no doubt in his mind that this was the Princess of Mars. Even though her face was turned so that her midnight hair hid the mark upon her forehead, the very air she extruded gave her status readily enough. From the upward, confident tilt of her chin, to the perfect posture and impenetrable self confidence, this young woman was regal to the core. As if that wasn't enough, her striking beauty would have stolen any man's breath away. Long, pure black hair fell down past the woman's waist, the ends thumping gently at where he guessed her knees would be on impossibly long legs. The dark dress she wore kept him from being too sure, however. It clung to her upper body almost like a second skin, but flowed out to fall somewhat behind her at the bottom. The sleeves followed suite, tight up until the middle of the arm and then flowed out to where it would cover all but the tips of her fingers.

The man in him was grateful that her current stance with her arms wrapped about her waist were loose enough to not hide the swell of well developed breasts underneath the black cloth. The neckline of the whole dress was actually nonexistence, the dress choosing instead to end in a high collar around the girl's graceful neck. All the darkness about her caused the porcelain color of her skin to effectively glow, and heightened the brilliance of her cherry red lips, and a pair of startling violet eyes.

It was only then that Endymion realized those eyes were focused on him, now, and that he could, indeed, see the faintly glowing red form of the Martian insignia under the fringe of her hair. He recovered himself quickly and swept a deep bow in her directly. Upon his looking up, the girl offered him a curtsy of equal depth when a man appeared at her elbow. "I thought the Inner Princesses weren't allowed to bring their Guardians." Zoisite asked softly. From the corner of his eye, Endymion saw Kunzite's turn as if to issue a reprimand then he stopped. Had the question come from Jadeite it might have been rude, but the Spaniard's cousin sounded merely curious.

The Crown Prince took a moment to look over the Princess's companion. He was much taller than the tiny woman, but for all the height difference their facial features, eyes and hair matched well enough that the Prince would have wagered his crown on their being family of some sort. A sweep of his eyes across the rest of the ship–by name, the _Rising Pheonix_, if he was translating the Marcan script written near the bow correctly–earned a slight grunt of surprise. Almost every sailor in its crew was similarly featured. There were a few brunettes, and eye colors were hard to see, but the resemblances were uncanny. Endymion was suddenly glad he hadn't made that bet, and finally responded to Zoisite's question, "They weren't. That man has no mark, he isn't either of their Secondary Senshi. I couldn't tell you if they were related or not, though."

"I don't think anyone could," The long-haired blonde replied in a soft voice. The statement was less than diplomatic, but a clear voice of what they all had to be thinking. A second voice proved them both wrong, then.

"I can," Was all that Jadeite said, but in that correction was voiced a clear disdain both for the Martians and the implication that they all looked alike. Endymion gave his friend a glance and was, for the first time, annoyed at the fact that the cowls they wore only left their eyes open to read. Jadeite wasn't too adept at hiding his anger, but the more complex emotions could easily be hidden without other facial clues to go by.

"It must be hard walking that fence post, hm, little Sand Dancer?" Nephrite put a hand to Jadeite's shoulder. The words could have been enough to incite an argument had they been given by anyone else, but Nephrite's understanding tone and comforting use of Jadeite's age old nickname softened the blow to nothing. Instead, the blonde backed down, and Endymion gave their brunette friend a grateful nod.

"My lord, the carriage arrives to carry us to the palace." Endymion nodded at the cabin boy who'd delivered the message. The sound of hoofs from the cobbled harbor street caught his attention, and he looked up to see two carriages on the street below. One looked to have been there for some time, and as he watched the Martian Princess was being handed into it. Four guards followed her in, all looking like dopplegangers to his eyes, before the door shut and the matched dapple greys pulled the carriage away. The second rolled up into its place, then, waiting for its own burden to pull. There went his idea of sharing a carriage with her.

Endymion surprised himself with his own resolution to make the chance to speak with that Princess later on. He couldn't deny the attraction he'd felt for her, and it was in his duties to make better connection to the surrounding planets. Being able to bask in the light of a beauty such as she would only be a perk, as he saw it, assuming her personality wasn't too unbearably bubbly like many Princesses he'd met through his life.

"Your Highness?" Kunzite's voice called Endymion back to the present, and the Prince laughed at himself.

"Sorry, Kun. I suppose I was daydreaming. Come, lets not keep the Queen waiting." With that the five of them made their way down the gangplank and down the dock to where their carriage awaited. It seemed a strange start indeed to a curious turn of history, and Endymion, at least, was glad to be a part of it.

* * *

The Moon Kingdom was beautiful, of that there was no doubt. Miran had never been to a place with so many impromptu mirrors. Yet, it wasn't the golden forests and sparkling rivers of her home world. This part, this homesickness, was not something that the Moon Princess with all of her sweetness and love for the world could help with. The Venusian had arrived almost a month before any of the others, her family apparently ready to be rid of her, but the girl still missed them deeply. For all the differences between her and her siblings, she had loved them all. It was for this reason that when she heard that the Martian envoy had finally arrived, the young woman had practically leapt with joy.

Though the cousins had, had very little time together with one another over the years, only summers and select holidays, they'd always been close. Years of letters and secret joint diaries heralded their bond like a wolf hailed the moon. Not a person on Mars or Venus wasn't aware of the special friendship between the two Senshi, and all had taken it as a good omen for the future, and later on the court. Miran didn't care about any of that, though. What was important to her was that she was not completely stranded with strangers, not anymore.

The moon, like Venus, wasn't too restricted on behavioral rules, thus her clattered steps down the long halls as she ran towards the front gates went unchecked so long as she didn't cause any major accidents. Behind her the younger princess ran in kind, long white hair streaming out from the two buns on either side of her head like glistening banners. The Princess had surprised Miran by not being all that stuck up. In truth, she was quite the happy, lovely young girl, if not in body. The High Princess was impossibly thin and short. With how much she ate it was amazing that she didn't weigh a thousand pounds or more, instead she looked as if she hardly ate at all. The girl's bright blue eyes took up more than half of her head, they were so large, and her hair was stark white and stringy to a fault. There was a possibility of beauty there, Miran could see it, but it would be slow to blossom.

It was her personality that made her what she was. Within moments, the girl had won Miran's heart over to her side, and the Venusian was certain that if any of the others were resentful of their hijacked places, Serenity could turn that charm as easily upon them. There was something so pure and honest about her, an unquestionable truth in her very being that made her mere presence fill a room. Rayna, Miran thought a moment later, would be a perfect test of this. Her beloved cousin, sweet as she could be, was also a very hard person to get close to. Miran had, had the loop hole of being family to break the ice in Rayna's heart, Serenity would not.

Together the pair passed through an elaborate ballroom, and climbed their way up the split staircase that lead towards the entrance of the Lunar Palace. Upon bursting through the carved double doors that gated the front walk of the Palace, the two found themselves on a broad veranda overlooking a cobbled U-shaped road where carriages could bring their charges up to the front steps of the Palace. It was upon these steps that the first of two such carriages had stopped to release its prisoners. After two of her guards, the familiar long-haired woman was given a hand out of the vehicle. The moment one black slippered foot touched the ground, the Venusian Princess gave a great shout of joy, the Martian's given name ringing off the cobblestones even over the sound of the horses or the men exiting the second carriage. All attention turned to the two cousins, taking in the exquisite sight of the Martian's eyes growing wide with surprise before the Venusian's hair obscured her from sight for a moment.

Rayna returned the embrace when her shock had faded, and a true smile settled across her pretty red lips. Miran was happy for that, knowing that this was a wondrous amount of expression for the other girl, even if it didn't match her own wide grin. "Miran," Rayna laughed slightly, her hands finding her cousin's and she gave them a familiar squeeze, "I didn't know you were here already."

The Venusian nodded, giggling merrily, "A month already! I was hoping you'd get here soon."

Rayna began to say more, when her eyes darted over Miran's shoulder. Following that gaze, Miran half turned to see Serenity behind them, focusing off to the left. Raising a brow in a direct mimic of Rayna's own expression, the cousins turned in unison to the left where a group of men were standing. Miran wasn't certain who the four cowled ones were, though she suspected they were guards just as all the Princesses had with them, but the fifth one was obvious. "Prince Endymion?"

The man bowed, and his guards followed suite. "Princesses," He gave a charming smile that got Miran's knees to melt a little. The man was handsome, of course, with a glorious sheen in his straight black hair and deep blue eyes. It wasn't really that about him that was attractive, though. There was a pull in his smile, a sort of cultivated charm that could easily draw in a person and drown them in its depth. As soon as she realized that, Miran broke the "spell" off easily; you weren't raised in a Venusian court without meeting a few of these skilled charmers, and learning how to shake one off. It didn't hurt, the blonde added wryly, that she was one herself.

Together, Miran and Rayna offered curtsies to the group as was only polite. "We hadn't heard you'd arrived yet, Prince," Miran gave him an apologetic smile, "Or I might have curbed my rather.. Unorthodox welcome of Princess Rayna."

"No apologies are necessary, my Lady," Endymion shook his head. From the corner of her eye, Miran could just barely make out the little twitch that spoke of her cousin biting her tongue. The blonde understood perfectly why–after all, she _hadn't_ been apologizing–but there was no reason to cause further awkwardness amongst the group. A glance to her side showed the largest contributing factor to that continued sense of unease–Serenity had yet to cut her silent staring. Miran made a soft noise, taking up a leader's role again as she took a step forward with her hands cupped in front of her, "Welcome to the Moon Kingdom, Highness."

"Please, just Endymion will do," He smiled. A half finished gesture suggested that the Prince's first inclination was to take her hand and kiss it. He'd stopped himself, however, and for that she was grateful. A shadow beside her moved and Rayna came into her peripheral vision once more.

"Endymion," The solemn Princess of Mars nodded, indicating that her presence wasn't to be ignored. The true to form style of her cousin earned a smirk from Miran before the blue-eyed Princess looked back to the Prince and his guards. She felt, rather than saw, Rayna's own identically colored squad assembling behind them, and the tension in the air grew a little more. For a few weeks now, Miran had all but forgotten the enmities present between many of the planet. Now it was here again, being tossed into their faces with the arrival of a welcomed face. Was this court Queen Serenity had in mind really such a good idea?

Rayna cut the tension like a knife, then, by stepping forward a second step. She offered her hand out to the Earthian Prince, whom took it immediately. Miran watched with wide eyes as Rayna allowed the former enemy to kiss her hand before she offered him another curtsy, "It is a great honor to meet you. My apologies for not meeting with you earlier, I saw your ship dock."

"Nay, my Lady," Endymion held her hand a moment longer than Miran really saw necessary. Her instincts sparked a little at witnessing that, even as she heard a slight choke to her right, "we were both in a hurry to get to the palace, after all. We had long journeys."

"That you did," Miran interjected. She too stepped forward to reclaim Rayna's hand with her own. Squeezing Rayna's fingers after she'd hidden them in the folds of cloth between their bodies, Miran half turned to gesture towards the recovering Serenity, "and you've yet to meet her Ladyship, the High Princess Serenity."

"My Lady," both offending parties said immediately. With them their guards bowed, giving Serenity a last moment to reclaim the rest of her dignity. Dignity, Miran thought with a slight amount of regret, that she didn't have much awareness of.

"P-Princess Rayna, Prince Endymion," Serenity stuttered for a moment, pink claiming her pale cheeks. She hesitated once more, and Miran felt the surprisingly strong urge to kick her. That wasn't too necessary, however, as Serenity finally took a few shuffled steps forward to meet them. "Welcome to the Moon Kingdom. Please, forgive my silence, I was simply so happy to see you both here!" The girl clapped her hands together in glee and bounced a slight bit in a joy that was entirely unfaked.

Miran felt Rayna tense, the Martian's fingers closing tighter over her own; she didn't even have to glance at the girl to know that Rayna didn't trust Serenity one bit. That couldn't be blamed, though. As sweet and kind as Serenity was, the girl was deceptively moody. One instant bewildered, angry or sad, and the next bubbling and full of cheer. It was hard for one so bubbly and bright as Miran to accept most of the time, it was only reasonable that a person as solemn and emotional as Rayna would find it untrustworthy at first. A fleeting thought questioned wether Rayna would ever learn to trust it and if she would be right not to do so–Miran locked these thoughts away and turned back to the slowly defusing conversation.

* * *

"You _kissed_, her _hand_." Fury raged through the man's veins like blood, tightening his muscles and boiling his mind. It sparked in his eyes and flowed through the contours just barely concealed by the helm and cape he wore. He'd barely been able to reign in that anger when it'd begun, only Nephrite and Kunzite moving closer to him in warning had been enough to force it down. When the Princesses had left them alone in what was to be Endymion's suite for as long as they remained on the Moon, he hadn't bothered to let it hide anymore. Never had they hidden their feelings from their Prince–they weren't just guards, after all, they were friends–and today would be no exception.

Jadeite tore his helm and cape off, wadding the cloth mass into a ball before he slammed it down into one of the lushly cushioned chairs the sitting room was littered with. All around him the four other men of their party were ridding themselves of the bothersome contraptions but in not so violent a fashion as their youngest friend. The room itself was relatively large, and very well furnished. Here, the Moon's habitual tendency towards silver had been over looked in favor of more Earthian blues, browns and greens. That in itself was a great thing for the young Prince, for the return to normality eased any hesitance he might have felt in blowing up. For his friends this was a curse.

"Jade," Endymion sighed. The Crown Prince ran a hand through his thick black hair after he'd let his cape drape over the back of a similar chair. Leaning a little on the back of it, he favored Jadeite with a rather annoyed look, "She's my peer and a Lady in her own right. She deserves the respect."

"Respect," Jadeite spat at him, letting the fury eat at his words and roll off his tongue in a tangible fog. Turning to pace between his tormented seat at the fireplace on the other side of the room, Jade copied the elder man's gesture with both hands. His fingers tangled and knotted into his bright colored curls, however, and he didn't bother trying to loosen them. "Respect! What the hell do Martians know about respect?"

Whipping around, Jadeite faced Endymion with something between a smirk and a snarl, "I saw the way you looked at her, Endy; I'm not blind. How could you? You know the feelings between our peoples, and yet you have serious plans of–"

Kunzite chose that moment to enter the argument, thus staying whatever Jadeite was about to accuse his Prince of–it wasn't hard to figure it out, however. Normally the stoic man stayed silent for such things, only speaking when his wisdom or leadership was necessary. Because of this, Jade was inclined, even mid-rage, to stop for a moment and listen. "Jade, we know your family history. It might be hard, but this is politics. You know as well as we do that personal feelings and grudges need to be set aside. Especially when we're here."

This might have been turned into an order, had Kunzite the chance to look up, for the man knew that while his words were powerful, the specialized glances and stares he'd long since perfected could scare the wildest of stallions into behaving. Nephrite chose that moment to tack a comment onto his fellow's speech that only embittered and further enraged the blonde, "Besides, don't you have some Martian veins in your blood? If we go by what you're saying, you must not deserve any more respect than she does."

"Nephrite," Zoicite snapped at him, but it was too late.

"Is that what you think of me?" Jadeite hissed, blue eyes narrowing. He wasn't a step closer to Nephrite, however, when Endymion's hand landed on his shoulder. Turning, he found the elder, taller man looming over him with an anger of his own written on his features.

"Is that what you think of me?" Endymion countered. Jadeite's frown deepened, but Endymion continued. "I know how you feel, and how many of our planet's peoples feel. If you really want to get into that, Jade, there is a good amount of runaways and fugitives on Earth. There will probably be one group or another that would take offense to whomever I'll end up marrying in the end. Be that as it may, we're not talking about marriage here, we're talking about a simple kiss on the hand. If you consider good manners to be flirting, then so be it, but you need to get your priorities in order."

Jadeite winced a little at the words. While they did a little to ebb his anger, it wasn't nearly enough to kill it. Endymion didn't stop there, however, "I told you that a Princess of Mars was to be present at this court, as was plainly obvious from the explanation of it the High Queen issued to us all. You walked into this willingly when I gave you a chance to decline, knowing that I was going to have to speak with her, and yes, make friends with her. Maybe even flirt a little, for wether or not you might like it, there's been talk of betrothing me to one of the off-planet princesses instead of among our own noble houses."

Jadeite knew he was shaking now, the rage growing almost intolerable. The renewed thought of a Martian on the throne of the planet his family had come to think of as home was nearly enough to send him packing right there. He didn't voice this opinion and turned instead to stalk towards a back door he'd spotted upon entering the room. Jadeite had no idea where this door lead, all he knew was that it defiantly was in the direction he wanted to go in: "away."

* * *

The silver halls of the Moon Kingdom weren't as confusing to Amiru as they might have been to any of the other Princesses. Finding your way amongst glass and crystal wasn't much different from doing the same in a cavern of ice, and she had done so many times before hand. It could be noted that she wasn't certain of where she was going at all.

Earlier that day, shortly after Rayna and Endymion though she didn't know it, Amiru had arrived on the Moon Kingdom. No Princesses had been there to run out to meet her, for they were busy with their first two guests, and so the Mercurian Princess had been left to the hands of the palace steward. She, a tall bubbly woman that babbled more than anyone Amiru had ever met before, had lead the Princess to a sitting room where she'd met for the first time with the woman who would be their new teacher, Luna.

There was an immediate report between the two, and Amiru felt a sudden ease within her heart at the thought of staying here. Luna had proven to be as pleasant a woman as her name sounded to the ear. She wasn't tall enough to be imposing, but not short enough to invoke a childish impression. Her long dark hair floated about her like a waterfall, softening any harshness her body's angles may have offered. Beyond that, the woman was obviously well read and mannered. After a short, welcoming conversation, Luna had seen Amiru personally to the quarters the Princess was to call her own.

They were located inside the Royal wing, up a small tower of their own. Amiru found the entire set up a little strange, if she was to be honest with herself, but at the same time practical. The tower itself had six levels. The first held a common sitting room and a communal bathing room that they passed through rather quickly. The next was her own room, and Luna explained that the third belonged to Miran, the Princess of Venus, the fourth to Serenity, the fifth to Rayna, Princess of Mars, and the sixth to Literi, Princess of Jupiter. This last name cause a smile on Amiru's somber face as well as a tremor in her heart. While she was familiar with the Venusian Princess, Amiru knew Literi rather well. That was an understatement, actually. The only scar on her body, a small pale mark on her left palm, was from where she and Literi had performed a 'blood sisters' ritual three summers prior. Her mother had about had her hide for "ruining" her skin in such a manner, but Amiru had never regretted the choice. To be so far away from Literi now, and yet so close, was a strange idea. Especially with the thought that someone each of them hated was to be put right in the middle of them. Hated, Amiru corrected herself, was perhaps too strong a term in her case, but for the moment she'd decided to let it rest.

After she'd been shown about her room, Luna left her to get adjusted. Amiru found her things had already been brought up, and had taken the time to unpack and organize as well as poke her nose about the place. It had been decorated in Mercurian fashion, much to her own relief; it was like a little ward against homesickness. She pretended the portrait of her family hung upon the wall was more helpful than hurtful, but after a short time of silence in such a strange place the delusion proved hard to uphold. In defense, Amiru had stolen away from the rooms and decided to explore a bit about the palace itself.

It was during that exploration that she saw a familiar curly blonde head walking about, looking as aimless as she was. "Jadeite?"

The man turned, and Amiru's heart quickened in joy that she'd been right. Her friend's usually dazzling blue eyes were dark this day, but it was defiantly him. Quickening her pace a little, the short, petite Princess caught up to him in a matter of seconds. "It is you! I hadn't been told that Prince Endymion had already arrived."

"Good day to you too," Jadeite snorted softly. It was then that Amiru realized why his eyes had lacked their usually dazzling charms. She sobered instantly, only to be rewarded by a slight chuckle from the man in front of her. "Don't look at me like that, Ami... Please. I didn't mean to snap."

Jadeite's soft smile returned once more and Amiru's heart lightened. "Nor did I mean to downplay your importance to me, Cousin," The woman smiled. Though she and Jadeite were hardly related–his bloodline was of Mercury, but too far from Amiru's own to have counted–they'd been raised to treat one another as family and the title only made the both of them smile. "Something is bothering you?"

The man hesitated, and Amiru knew she had hit upon something. What it was would remain secret, it seemed, for the man shook his head, "I was simply thinking. When did you arrive?"

"Several hours ago, I do believe," Amiru nodded a little. What he was hiding worried her, and she knew that it was written on her face. Still, the Princess did not press the matter and turned instead to look down the hallway. Following her cue, they both continued down the length of the corridor, their pace slowed so that they could converse as they did so.

Though Jadeite's home was on Earth, and his place at Endymion's side had hindered solo travel through much of his life, the ruling houses of Mercury and Earth were close to one another. As such, Jadeite's trips to Mercury for much of training and vacations had gone unquestioned. She'd rarely met most of the other Companions, only Endymion standing out in her mind. The others were eyes or hair colors, but nothing more. "We arrived this morning," Jadeite offered, one hand scooping through his curls in an annoyed gesture.

Thankfully, the girl knew him well enough to know that it wasn't directed at her. She couldn't help a spark of curiosity for what it was, and what had driven him out on his lonesome in a foreign castle. "Jade," The girl asked softly, her voice lowered to keep their privacy from any listening ears that may have been in the non-existent shadows. "Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

The man sighed, and he offered her a measuring glance. She'd no doubt that he was angry with her, and so Amiru said nothing more. It was always this way with them; he'd be raging about one thing or another, and she would act as his good sense about it by simply giving him a sounding board. Some thought of it as a rather parasitic relationship on his part, but Amiru didn't mind. Her friends were everything to her, and their problems worried her.

In the end, the Princess wasn't made to wait very long. "Endymion and I had a little... disagreement about political relations."

That sounded ominous indeed, and Amiru frowned slightly. She had a fair idea of what that might mean, for while her "cousin" was a shrewd politician when he needed to be, Jadeite usually preffered to stay out of such matters. That something political had upset him was a strange thing indeed, and a pretty good sign that it had to do with the one soapbox the blonde was well known for. "I take it the Princess Mars has already arrived, then?"

"How do you do it, Ami?" Jadeite surprised her with a soft chuckle. He nodded his head and gave a dull snort, then. "She has, and it seems my Prince is quite taken with her."

"Oh dear," Amiru sighed. To anyone else it would have sounded patronizing, Amiru was well aware of that, those that did know her knew she meant it, however. Her brow furrowed a little at the thought of it, before an errant thought formed into a fairly sound idea, "Taken with her in so short a time? You say you'd only just arrived this morning."

"We did," Jade nodded once more. After a moment, he seemed to see what she was getting at and stopped abruptly. The Princess sucked in a breath and stopped with him, sure she had pushed her luck. She was readying a statement to staff off his anger when his own words stopped her. "I know this seems overly dramatic, Ami."

"I'm glad you realize that," Amiru said with more brutality than she was generally known for. She smiled then, a somewhat worried expression that eased any bruising she may have given him. "But I can understand why you would take it so far. It can't be easy watching a friend be easy with someone you've been taught to hate and distrust."

Jadeite nodded faintly, a small sparkle returning to his eyes. "What about you, Ami? What are you going to do with this?"

"The same thing Endymion has done," She said softly. The quietly strong young woman reached out to touch her friend's hand. It seemed he was to pull away from her, then Jadeite stopped and let her hand close over his. "It doesn't mean that my love of you is any less, Jade. You're my friend, my Cousin, and you always shall be... but you must understand that I'm honor bound to respect what the High Queen has dictated. The Princess Mars and I might never get along, but we shall have to be able to work with one another despite. Please don't make this any more difficult than it already is for me... and for Endymion."

The clouds returned to his face, but Amiru felt she'd gotten through to him. Seeing this, she kept his hand for a minute more, then dropped it gently. "Would you like to walk with me? I'm not entirely certain where I'm going, but I'd be glad of the company."

"I would," Jadeite whispered. She had gotten her point across, but the blonde still didn't like it. That was fine, for he always took a while to come around to sense... he could be one of the sweetest men on earth, but his rages were still as harsh as his Martian's grandparents had been. "But I shouldn't. I need to return to Endymion's side... I'm sure you understand?"

"I do," Amiru nodded. She offered him a small smile and curtsy. He returned a short bow before turning and walking back down the corridor the way she'd come before. When he'd gone, the dark haired woman sighed and relaxed a moment. Jadeite's family, the Fuegojoyans, were a well known and respected family on both Earth and Mars now. Originally, their house had been renegades from the last Martian civil war that Amiru's own grandfather had taken pity on and offered refuge to. Soon after their arrival, they had several marriages into one of the lesser Mercurian houses, and a house who had several children marry into the Southern ruling family on Earth. Their takeover was so complete that even the house name had been changed to Fuegojoyan. No one was surprised when one of the new King's sisters had married into their neighboring kingdom to the east.

There was a great amount of people that viewed their family as a power hungry plague, and depsite her own relations to them, Amiru couldn't help but see the validity in that statement. Certainly she had no problem with Jadeite or his siblings, but the Matriarch of their family was another ordeal. Lady Ratix was a cold, bitter woman perfectly suited to her new home on Mercury. Though the ice planet didn't normally allow Matriarchies, Ratix had quite effetely wormed her way into the role of a single exception to that ruling. Her vice hold over the new husband she'd found on their planet hadn't relaxed until the day he'd died, and named her ruling heir of their house in his will. Because of the man's favor in their own father's eyes, his wish had been upheld thus insuring Ratix's own hold over her own family. Privately, Amiru believed that even if the rule had been turned over to one of Ratix's progeny it wouldn't have mattered. Perhaps that was why it was allowed, so that there would be no doubt as to who was the leader in that situation. After all, the saying had always went that "it is better to know where the ice drake lies, than to flush him out and have him hide elsewhere."

A sound behind her broke Amiru's reverie. The dark haired woman turned in the sunset-lit hallway to see behind her a girl she recognized without ever having seen her before. For a long moment, Amiru and Rayna stood staring silently at one another, each with no doubt as to what the other was thinking. A slight pink crept into Amiru's cheeks that had nothing to do with the light siphoning in through the long windows to her left. Questions flitted through Amiru's mind: How much of their conversation had the other Princess heard? Had she been standing there long, or just caught Amiru staring into space?

"Princess Mercury," Rayna dipped a slight curtsy, which Amiru matched immediately in equal depth to indicate their identical positions. Her face was impossible to read, Amiru realized after a moment of watching her. It showed neither amnisty or acceptance, and as the woman had yet to say another word, it seemed up to Amiru to open the conversation.

"Princess Mars," She replied softly, not knowing what Ranya's given name was. "Good evening."

"To you as well," Rayna offered, but nothing more. Again awkwardness began to settle its heavy hand between them when a bubble of sunlight danced into the hall from the door it seemed Rayna herself must have come through. Miran's laughter bounced about the corridor, ringing off the ceiling and playing along the glass. Upon seeing what she'd walked into a shade of darkness threatened her smile, but it was only a minor threat. Indeed, her infallible cheer chased away any ghost of unease left between them as Rayna turned quickly and offered her cousin a wide smile.

That sudden change in the other girl's neigh unreadable face was as nearly as startling to Amiru as was the Venusian's entrance. She shook that off and tried to recollect herself as the other two spoke. "Rayna, what is taking so long? We were waiting on you!"

"You're too impatient, the lot of you," Rayna replied sharply, trusting the smile to ease her words, "I haven't even had time to make it back to my room, much less search for a single broach."

"Excuses, excuses!" Miran stuck her tongue out in such a childish fashion that Amiru was once more sent into a mild state of shock. She'd rarely seen anyone, at least anyone of royal blood, above the age of seven act in such a fashion. The other two Princesses didn't seem to find anything strange about it at all, however, and Miran continued her babble, "We need to decide what we're going to wear for the ball, there's only a few hours left."

"And as I've said a hundred times before, this entire thing would be more appropriately done in our sitting room. After all, we'd only have to run up a few flights of stairs for different items, rather than across the palace." Rayna countered with an argumentive arch of her eyebrow.

"And I keep telling you that Hoku isn't allowed in the girl's quarters." Miran retorted. Her arms crossed over her chest and she settled back on one foot. Amiru, still standing forgotten across the hall, frowned a little. The name Hoku sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. At the moment, her vision was filled with her first sight of the Venusian and Martian Princesses. As night Venus or Mercury had problems with Earth, one would have thought they might have met before at Earthen functions, or that their own families may have met since they had no real quarrel with one another. However, though Amiru had met and even played with the children of the Venusian ambassador, she'd never once met or seen a picture of the Venusian royals. All she had was here-say, but from what she could see before her it seemed to be true.

Miran was nothing less than gorgeous, that much was certain despite her relatively young age. Her hair was as golden as the sun, like long tresses of pure gold flowing down past her knees. In true Venusian fashion it was left loose, a habit among most women from other worlds that still left Amiru vaguely uncomfortable. In truth, looking between the two cousins in front of her, it was like watching night and day converse. The only things the two seemed to be able to agree on, color wise, was pale toned skin and eyes. Where Rayna's skin was a light, but healthy, porcelain, Miran's was creamy and slightly tanned from the outdoors. Her eyes were blue, but not unmatched to Rayna's own pale violet.

The robes Miran wore were outlandish to Amiru's eyes, but beautiful in their own way. A cream colored wrap with the faintest hint of golden swirls woven into the fabric was fastened around her bodice and shoulders for a collar. Under it was a darker gold piece that Amiru could only define as a full-body wrap. It tied about her waist with a gold and cream chord, and flowed out a little looser around her ankles than it did her chest. Somehow the split managed to stay closed, though on a closer inspection revealed that it was actually allowed to flap open a little near the bottom to show off scandalously naked ankles. Once more a blush rose to Amiru's cheek at the thought of any man being allowed to see a woman's ankles, and she pressed her hand over her lips to hide her expression. Even the shoes that Miran wore helped to show off more of her ankles, for they were barely more than soles with a few strips of leather to keep them on. Sandals; Amiru thought they were called "sandals."

Amiru looked up to find the Venusian's dancing blue eyes upon her. She made a soft noise, then nodded slightly to the blonde. Miran nodded in return, a slow grin spreading across her features. "Amiru," The name rolled off her tongue like a statement with which Miran took a step forward. Boldly, the girl reached her hands out to take Amiru's and the Mercurian was so startled by this she let her. "It is good to meet you. I'm sorry, we didn't get word of your arrival. You haven't been on your own too long, I trust?"

"N-no..." Amiru stuttered softly. The familiarity with which Miran carried herself was strange to someone as reserved as Amiru was wont to be, but it wasn't hard to be sucked into. "No," recovering her voice, the Princess of Mercury offered her new companion a slight smile, "I was just looking for you, and the Crown Princess... and..."

Miran followed the gaze that peirced over her shoulder, turning to see Rayna still standing behind her. Once more it was left to her to introduce the estranged Martian. "Princess Rayna."

Rayna nodded to Amiru once more, then took a step forward as her cousin had. "Welcome, Princess...?"

"Amiru," the girl offered. She dipped her head in turn. Before silence could try to settle in the group again, Miran tugged upon her captive's hands.

"Come! We were just in the middle of preparing for tonight's ball–you do know about the ball don't you?"

That certainly broke whatever spell Amiru had found herself under. Finding herself being tugged into a relatively small, and notably cluttered, sitting room, Amiru almost gave a small squeak of surprise. She choked that inclination down enough to get a feel for her surroundings before she was made too much a fool of herself. Some back part of her mind registered Rayna's leaving, likely to go get the broach Miran had mentioned earlier.

This room wasn't as large as some that Amiru had "discovered" upon her wanderings earlier that day, but neither was it precisely small, either. Three couches had managed to fit into the room, forming three sides of a square while the fourth side was reserved for a great fireplace. Surprisingly, there was a flame burning there, though it was practically summer weather outside.

"Its cold to us, Ami, remember?" A familiar voice whispered into the girl's ear. This time, Amiru did squeak–in pleasant surprise rather than astonishment. Turning, Amiru found much to her great joy the familiar face of Literi smiling from above her.

"You've hit another growth spurt!" She gasped, still, her happiness abundant in her voice alone. Indeed, the Jupiterian had indeed grown several inches since they'd last seen one another, at the start of the last summer; Amiru now had to crane her neck upward to fully see her friend's face. That thought brought home the young woman's words, however, and Amiru nearly froze at the realization. It was late fall here, not even winter yet, but it felt like the dead of summer to her frozen blood. What would it feel like during true summer she wondered.

"No, you've just grown shorter," Literi's laughing reply pulled Amiru's thoughts back to the present, and the pair grinned. "When did you arrive?"

That seemed to be a common question; Amiru found herself getting quite sick of it, but dealt with the whole round of questions once more. It seemed Literi had arrived a few hours after her, actually, but had joined up with the Princess's group sooner. With her another guest had come, one that Amiru was even less prepared for. The Prince of Uranus, Hoku, a boy she'd barely heard tales of. For a man to take Senshi Power was something both respected and mostly unheard of on Mercury. Indeed, she suspected that she'd only been taught such things were possible because her mother had suspected what was to come later on in her own life; if they'd left that information out as they usually did, Amiru wouldn't have been prepared to face either Hoku or Endymion's true power. As it was, she was now expected to fight alongside both Senshi Uranus and Senshi Earth, wasn't she?

Amiru's unasked questions were shortly answered, however, after she'd been introduced in turn to their new liege, Princess Serenity. Bunny, the young woman corrected herself, that was the name this Crown Princess preferred. It wasn't too hard to see where that nickname had come from, even if Amiru's own heritage rebelled against such demeaning things as animalistic nicknames. As it was Serenity's own wish, Amiru held her tongue. She was much surprised at the next announcement, however.

"We told you there was to be a ball, correct?" Bunny asked, her bright smile at the mention of the event evidence enough to how much the girl was looking forward to it. As if it weren't enough, the entire group was swimming among a sea of party dresses, shoes, and jewelry the girls had each brought from their luggage. Apparently there was some effort being put in to try and make the girls "match" in one form or another, though with the vast differences in style between the five of them, that seemed an impossible task.

The only one not sharing in the whole fiasco was Hoku, who was far more content making well-meant fun of their preoccupation with dresses and jewels. It didn't take Amiru long to see his greater purpose, however; Hoku was quite adept at defusing the tense air that hung between Miran and Literi. Both girls were trying obviously to ignore the animosity between there persons–trying and failing for the most part, it seemed. Still, no true fight had yet to come of it and so Amiru saved the rest of her reflections on the subject for later, choosing instead to concentrate on the task at hand.

"You did mention it," Amiru nodded. She fingered a silky Venusian number she had laying in her lap as she carefully thought over her choice of words, "though not why its being held."

"To celebrate the forming of the Court, of course!" Bunny chirped as if it were the most obvious answer in the world; which it was, Amiru noted with a slight sense of shame for not having seen what was right in front of her. Fortunately, Bunny was far too engrossed with one of the complicated wooden bead necklaces Literi had brought along to really notice.

"After which, most of us will retreat back to our home planets and duties," Hoku winked at Amiru, though she wasn't sure why. A sudden, sharp sense of hope sprang into her chest a moment later. Were they to be allowed to leave? That hope died as soon as it formed, however, struck down by the ever-mighty logic she held in her petite frame.

"Retreat? Whom?" She asked instead, allowing her puzzlement to show.

"You didn't know?" Miran asked softly. When it was apparent that Amiru did not, Miran blatantly ignored Literi's indignant snort about the matter, and explained, "Only we four–that is, Rayna, you, Literi and I–are to stay as the permanent court. The others have pressing duties and assignments that they must be allowed to return to."

That made sense, even to Amiru's fresh sense of disappointment. Had she been any other person, that light write off of her own duties might have made her a little angry or indignant. The Princess of Mercury held no delusions about herself, however. She knew that, logically, there was a greater duty to be had here than there was for her back home. Indeed, not even the time-tested "duties" of the Senshi Princess were that great on Mercury–they'd all been delegated to other, "more efficient" male officers long since her time. In truth, all she was generally used for was a figure head. Her training had been real, but the function it was supposed to have served wasn't. That lacking sense of purpose had once been loathed but now she longed for it with that sickening lurch she'd begun to associate with homesickness.

* * *

Literi couldn't help but feel Amiru's own sense of disappointment along with the darker haired Princess. It wasn't fair, their being drug along to play babysitter to a–her thoughts skid to a halt as she turned her sights on the silver haired Moon Princess. The blood in her veins wanted to boil. It wanted the electric fire of rage to sing through it and fuel her body and mind so that she might be able to run full tilt back to her homeland. One look at Bunny, however, and she was hooked. There was simply something about this girl that was spellbinding. It was almost as if they were made to be here.

The Venusian's words had set her on edge, however. Miran hadn't needed to inflict as much as she had upon the fact that the others had true reason to return to their lives when the four Inner Princesses had not. It was, however, only one of many things the blonde did that ticked her off. The majority of the causes were the simple facts that Miran breathed, lived and had that singularly enraging smile of hers.

The Jupiterian's fists clenched, her body shifting to settle her hands behind her and under one of the couches so that they wouldn't be seen. It wouldn't due to let Hoku know that she was angry again–he'd already seemed so disappointed by the near fights he'd had to regulate already that day. Truly, it shouldn't have been his business but Literi couldn't stop the quickening of her pulse and catch of her breath that told her that any part of her life he wanted to look into would be his at a moment's notice.

For the past month they'd lived, eaten, trained and laughed together on board of the _Jungle's Heart_ and Literi was only too glad that nothing much had changed upon un-boarding. Sometimes friendships made that way weren't inclined to last, but Hoku hadn't been treating her any differently. Her heart raced as he leaned over the back of the couch to brush her shoulder and whisper a question in her ear. It wasn't anything romantic, indeed just a question about customs he wasn't really good at remembering. She whispered it back to him, however, letting her lips stray a little too close to his than was necessary when she turned her head to do so. Literi didn't catch the slight narrowing of Miran's eyes when the Venusian witnessed this and gave a mental smirk. So, the blonde daughter of a whore had eyes for her own cousin–albeit that Hoku and Miran were only related by marriage–that was just in line with everything else Literi had learned about Miran. The girl could find herself another catch, Literi had already decided to claim Hoku as soon as she could. She didn't think he'd have any objections to her intentions, and certainly wouldn't come the result.

The door opened, tearing blue eye from green, and Rayna stepped in with the broach she'd gone to fetch. The commotion Miran and Bunny both made over this little trinkets dispelled the negative air completely. Literi turned, eyeing the broach Rayna held impassively in her hand. A slight smirk settled on the amazon's lips; watching Rayna's expression shift gradually from bored to annoyed was positively delightful. She didn't mind the dark haired Princess so much, though Literi couldn't help but think that Rayna was more than a little dry. There was an old air about her that made the other Princess seem far older than even Literi, who was the eldest of the girls present.

The brunette leaned back, resting herself against the legs hidden in the deep blue skirts of her best friend's dress. Looking up, Literi smiled. Having Amiru here helped more than she could express. It was hard to be in a place alone–even her budding friendship with Hoku wasn't enough to fill that void. Ever since she and her sister had begun their heavier training years ago, the bond that was between them had weakened. These days, it was almost as if Nanari was a totally different person than the girl Literi had known. Of course, all odds were on that this was entirely true, but that didn't help Literi's outlook on it in the least. Amiru turned to look down at her a moment later and the two shared a smile. Ami was as unnerved as she was, Literi thought. Perhaps selfishly, she took a little comfort in that and relaxed once more into the preparations.

Why Serenity and Miran had decided for them that they'd all try to match in some fashion or another, they were never told, though they were under orders from both the Queen herself and their planets' ambassadors to wear the colors of their individual home planets. As each planet had widely different color–as well as fashion styles–this matching game was more difficult than one would normally think. Still, they were trying; Literi guessed that it was yet another attempt to find some common ground between them. From the looks of it, that worked just fine for them–clothes were things most girls were excited about, it seemed. Literi cast an eye down at her own clothing, and Amiru's hand falling lightly upon her naked shoulder reminded her of something she'd quite nearly forgotten.

_The way humidity and sweat froze upon the girl's brow caused gossip among the palace children. In less than a few hours, the Princess from another star had become more of a side show for her peers than a delegate or person of power in her own right. Literi had been among them, hiding in the brush as they watched the Princess timidly walk around the few pathways that were placed in the "palace gardens" that were really just a formalized extension of the jungle beyond. From the way the Mercurian dressed, it wasn't too much of a jump for them to assume some lack of intelligence on her part. The way that the sun beat down upon them, combined with the smothering moisture in the air, made clothing more of a burden than a help–even to such amazing warriors as the Jupiterians were known for being; armor was rather limited to wooden weaves and light, supple leather. _

_Despite this, Princess Amiru, as Literi knew her, was clothed head to foot. Her skirt was full, and seemed to have several more skirts underneath it, so many that the children about her never glimpsed her feet! Over her chest was a tight, but thick looking bodice with a high collar that seemed as if it would hurt her neck were she to turn her head too much. Her sleeves fit the theme of her dress in an awkward sort of way. Puffy about the top, they tightened along her forearms, then billowed out again to trail all the way to the ground. She must have been sweltering, for surely she looked peaked and sick. The only thing that debunked that theory were the ice crystals forming about the visible parts of her skin; the look it gave her was indescribable. One of the children suggested that Amiru was part snake, a theory the others decided against not too long later. Amiru was far too bird like to be considered a snake. The best that Literi could come up with as a description of the phenomena the cold tendrils of frost across an icy lake she'd seen in a painting once, a long time ago. _

_It was during this scrutiny that Amiru's searching eyes had finally found theirs among the greenery. The red that showed on her cheeks then was almost laughable. The humor didn't downplay the true embarrassment that was there, or the fact that Literi's companions had the heartlessness to burst into wild laughter. Literi's own smile died as a betraying sparkle appeared in Amiru's eyes. After glaring her companion's into silence, the ten-year-old crawled out from the bushes and stood to face her peer. "Princess Amiru, right? Sorry about that. They're not really used to off-worlders."_

_The Mercurian's eyes had gone wide once more, to Literi's own surprise. There wasn't a shine of tears any longer, though the shock that replaced it was more than obvious. With a frown, Literi looked down at herself. "What?"_

_Amiru made a soft noise, her hands twitching and held aloft about her middle, as if she'd been about to press them to her mouth and thought better of it. _Or_, Literi added silently_, she was too frozen to complete the action._ Vocal talent slowly retook the Mercurian Princess, and when it did she gave a slight curtsy complete with an apologetic smile. Literi wasn't appeased by so little, however, Amiru's eyes still held tale of a great scandal. "It's a pleasure to meet you... Princess Literi?"_

_"Lita," The girl responded with a shake of her head. Seeing that she'd confused Amiru, the girl impatiently explained, "Literi is my full name, but I go by Lita."_

_"Lita..." Amiru acknowledged slowly, rolling it over her tongue like one would savor a piece of steak. For a moment Literi entertained the idea that it truly was for the other girl. She'd been told that Amiru was the intellectual sort, after all the girl had gone out of her way to learn Jupetese for the simple _fun_ of it. Literi didn't really understand that sort of fun, but she didn't bother saying as much. One thing the number of siblings she'd grown up with had taught her was that people came in all shapes and paths. Some paths were just stranger than others. _

_The Mercurian decided to further prove that point by running her eyes over Literi's body once more. For a moment Literi wondered if Amiru had said something that she'd missed, then realized that that wasn't the case at all. After another glance down, Literi felt her impatience growing once more. She was close to snapping when Amiru spoke, "Please, forgive me, Princess Lita. I didn't mean to be so rude..."_

_"Well... we were staring at you," Literi offered a moment later, when her own small surprise had worn off. The ready apology certainly hadn't been expected, though the reason for it was still a little vague, "... why were you staring at me like that, anyway?"_

_Once more, Amiru's cheeks flushed. _No snake but a lobster,_ a small voice in the back of Literi's skull chuckled. The girl allowed herself a slight smirk before she shushed her sense of humor and returned to the present. "Your... clothing. I.. You don't..." Amiru seemed so timid, it was really hard to take offense to anything she was saying. Truly, Literi was more confused than mad anymore, and she put a hand out on the other girl's shoulder to calm her. Finally, the answer burst forth, "You're almost naked!"_

_Literi found herself staring stupidly at the other girl. It wasn't that there wasn't any truth in her words–in fact, Amiru was exactly right–the real issue was that Literi couldn't really understand why that was strange. Beaded, braided hair clinking about her face, Literi let her gaze drop down for the third time to contemplate her own body. The rather plain, somewhat dirty leather loincloth was the only thing she was wearing that day, if you didn't count mud splattered over her feet and up her legs; the dried dirt was almost as thick as leather, at any rate, and as hard to be rid of as tar. Her chest had just begun to bud a little, but there wasn't enough there to require being held back, and so Literi hadn't yet bothered with any sort of wrapping for it. Perhaps that was the problem, she thought, looking back towards her company, "I don't really have breasts yet, so its okay."_

_If anything, Amiru's face just became a darker shade of red, closer to garnet or blood. Literi could hear twittering behind them again, a strange soundtrack to the awkwardness of the moment. Upon hearing it, Amiru seemed to shrink for a moment. Literi's eyes darkened and she readied to swing around to lay into her rude "friends." The other Princess surprised her, then, by standing up a little straighter. While Amiru's cheeks still held a touch of pink–Literi feared the girl had actually given herself a sunburn!–she seemed to shake off her fear and timidity at a moment's notice. _

_"Of course it is. Please, forgive my rudeness. Its my first time away from home and..."_

_"And you couldn't have known what to expect," Literi grinned. In truth, most of the palace that day had been wearing more "common" tunics and robes, even Literi's parents. They'd tried to explain why to Literi, but she hadn't listened. At the first chance, the young Princess had changed her clothes and run off to enjoy time with her friends while she could. The thought of the snickering idiots behind her made her turn, only to find that they'd run off. She frowned then, more than a little bruised at the abandonment. Little did she know that only days later she'd thank them. Because of their disappearance, she'd made one of the best friends she'd ever have._

No, Literi had never thought much of fashion or its supposed rules. True, she'd always dressed in the "fashion" of her own people, but her choices were always on the plain or practical side. The elaborate tunic she wore today, heavy with golden trim and elaborate stitching, wasn't a good example of her own fashion sense. It'd actually been handed down to her from Narou the day that Literi had taken up the full title of Senshi Jupiter. The specific instructions had been to wear it her first day, at least, for "first impressions should be good impressions," as the woman had said. Despite the hard years between them, Literi found it difficult to think of her aunt without smiling. The physical pain and suffering she'd been put through during her training were wounds that wouldn't be quick to heal, if ever they did, but there had been good times too. In truth, as loving as her mother and father were, Literi found she felt more like Narou's daughter for all that she'd spent much more time with her.

"Lita!"Literi found herself face to face with an impeccably sunny face before she'd even realized the girl was there. Cursing herself for the lapse in awareness, Literi tried to not let it distract her, and homed in on Bunny's question. "Are you certain you don't have any dresses like these?"

The amazon had to move Bunny bodily out of the way by gently guiding her shoulders back. That done, she was left to look over a set of three dresses, now. It had taken some time, but they had finally found three dresses that were somewhat similar. From the colors, it wasn't hard to guess which dress went with what girl. Literi gave a soft snort and shook her head, "I don't have any dresses, actually. We don't wear them." Behind her, Amiru made a soft, amused sort of sound. The Mercurian knew that Literi was exaggerating, of course, but she didn't voice it; for that, Literi was grateful.

"No dresses!" Bunny exclaimed, cutting off a comment Miran had tried to begin. It was probably for the best, as the look on the blonde's face indicated that it likely wasn't anything pleasant. "What do you wear then?"

"Tunics, loincloths and pants, right Lita?" The mixed question and answer brought a smile to Literi's lips, and she let her brilliant green eyes fall upon the blonde man that was stretched upon one of the couches. Hoku had long given up formality, much more inclined to toss his over-robe into the surrounding piles of dresses and relax while the girls chatted. He'd even removed the wrapped cloth–a turban, if she remembered the term correctly–from his head and allowed his slightly curled blonde hair to remain free. She tried not to think of how closely he resembled the bubbly blonde girl in the room and instead gave him a smile and nod. "Yes. Those items are more common place..."

"Wow..." Bunny breathed, her eyes wide in her complete enthrallment. The girl leaned forward a little, balancing on her knees over a dress. "I've never been allowed to wear pants! .. And what's a loin cloth?"

"It's a strip of material that goes through your legs and is held in place by a chord around your middle." Literi said after a moment. The slight frown of confusion that she was met with signified a slight lack of understanding on Bunny's part.

Bunny didn't seem to mind that, though, and smiled anyway. "That sounds fun! Maybe you could wear one of those!" A slightly embarrassed cough issued from over Literi's shoulder. The Jupiterian glanced up and grinned to see Amiru's red-cheeked face. The girl had yet to say much, but she could see she felt the need to interject now.

"Princess Serenity, forgive me, but I do not think that would be so wise a thing." Amiru warned, her voice barely loud enough to be heard. For once the others were relatively quiet, however, so the Princess did hear it. A slight pout formed on her peaked face, and Bunny turned her baleful blue eyes towards the ice Princess.

"Ahhh? But Why?" Bunny whined, a soft but rather pitched sound that caused a wince on everyone's face but Amiru's. Literi wondered for a moment if the girl was immune, but one look at the way her friend had twitched stated otherwise. Amiru was merely too poised to have let Bunny see how much it pained her.

Amiru hesitated in answering, and a sharper voice answered instead, "Loincloths are too open for people here. Besides, its cold outside, they're not practical." Literi and Bunny both looked up, their gaze falling upon Rayna's impassive face. Rayna arched a brow; a challenge, Literi thought.

"Rayeee," Bunny whined again, and Rayna's matching brow rose to join its partner. The rather quick informality Bunny had was at once charming and somewhat unsettling, even to Literi who preferred informality as a rule. Rayna was obviously on the other side of that fence, no matter how well she'd accepted to use the term "Bunny." If it wasn't for political difference, Amiru and Rayna would get along rather well, Literi thought–or, perhaps, it was that they were too much alike. "Its her normal clothes, though! She should be comfortable!"

"She will decide what is comfortable for her, especially in this weather. Some of us are not so used to the cold."

"Ehh?" Bunny pouted. Not seeming to catch the hint, she turned her sights to Literi once more. Literi fell back a little, propping herself up on her hands as Bunny seemed to fall into her lap. "What do you think, Lita? It isn't too cold is it? I'd love to see your normal clothing!"

Literi's mouth dropped open a few degrees, her astonishment rather noticeable. It was rather cool, by her own standards; in truth, it was really rather cold to her. Jupiter was nothing but a vast, humid jungle. Now that Rayna had brought it up, she could just barely see the other girl shivering from her seat directly in front of the fireplace. While she wasn't shivering herself, Literi understood how the other girl felt. In truth, the thought of wearing her traditional clothing in this weather made her shake a little. However, the way that Rayna had put it caused a spark of anger in Literi's heart; while it was the truth, there was no reason to put it so harshly. Besides that, there was something about the innocent curiosity in Bunny's pale blue eyes that made it hard for the amazon to deny her. "Well.. Sure. There'll be a lot of people there and dancing. It'll probably be warm enough."

That got a squeal of joy from the little girl half curled into Literi's lap. A second later, Literi found herself thrown back with the girls skinny white arms wound about her shoulders, and pale white-blonde hair obscuring her vision. A fresh spike of shock shot through her system; so much had already happened, though, Literi found it inconsequential and soon enough began to laugh with the others, her own arms coming up to hold the thirteen-year-old. There was something about this girl, something that Literi couldn't quite name, that just made a person love her; it was almost as if they were caught under a spell.

* * *

The outdoor ballroom pavilion was a magical place that night. Bunny's blue eyes widened with joy as she looked out over the crowds of nobles and officials from all eight planets. All sorts of colors and dress styles where everywhere among the white and silver decoration. Even the roses that grew in swirls up and around the massive white pillars that outlined the pavilion were white, their almost translucent stems void of the traditional green coloring. No one knew what caused the plants growing upon the Moon's surface to loose their "proper" coloring, but no one questioned it as no one questioned the lava lakes of Mars, the wild jungles of Jupiter or the sandstorms of Uranus; it simply was. To Bunny, it was normal and natural for it was all she knew.

A white, translucent gauze that held a faint sparkle to its weave was draped over the top of the pavilion, coming to a gentle peak in its middle were it was suspended by wires in the trees that were so fine they were nigh invisible. In this peak a beautiful crystal chandelier was hung. While suspended, the ornament still turned very slowly, casting a supernatural light around the entire enclosure. The gauze curtain flowed down all the way to the grass. Splits had been drawn in it between every other sets of columns where the material was drawn back and tied in the flowers to form doorways by which the guests could come and go. A pair of guards was assigned to each doorway, one on either side of it. Bunny didn't think about why there were more guards beyond that, spread out in groups of three and four throughout the entire garden. To her, this was not an uneasy situation but a joyous one. For years she had waited for the day her court would be formed–the day that she'd have children of her own station to play with. (It wasn't that she minded playing with the servants children–in truth, she hadn't though anything of it until the day had come when Naru's station in life had left her with no more time for child's play. Bunny still saw her around the castle now, but Naru was expected to work as hard as any grown woman. The reality of it hurt.)

A lone trumpet sounded, and Bunny rose with the rest of the guests as her mother entered. High Queen Serenity's beauty held no equal here, especially not in her daughter's eyes. The woman's long white hair drifted behind her in the soft breeze that was flowing through the garden that night. Like Bunny's, Serenity's hair was done up in two traditional buns on either side of her head, with longer "tails" of hair flowing behind her. The Queen's hair was so long it actually trailed along the floor behind her, mixing in with the trail of the silver dress she wore. Her skin, white as the flowers around the pavilion, glowed with what seemed to be an ambience all of its own, highlighting the slight pink touch of her cheeks and lips. The only color on her person at all was the pale blue that still lingered in her eyes. It was said that once her eyes had been dark as midnight, but the sheer power flowing through her veins had long since washed the color away.

The entire room kept its silence, save a violin in the musician's dias that had picked up a strain of the Moon's anthem. Its slow melody was soon joined in by the entire wood, wind and string company, though that brave violin kept the lead. It continued as Serenity mounted the short flight of steps that lead to the dias the royal table was set upon. At the top, the High Queen stopped and turned to face the many people watching her, her dress and hair swirling about her feet like the billows of a cloud. As the last note of the anthem died, Serenity raised a hand and made a slight gesture. At that simple command, the entire assembly retook their seats at the tables spread on the outskirts of the pavilion. The middle, a designated dance floor, was left empty for the moment.

"Good Evening, my family, friends and colleagues," Serenity's smile was returned through the crowd at such a warm opening statement. From her seat, Bunny could just barely see her mother's face, but she knew the look the woman was giving the crowd. It was with no small amount of pride that Bunny brought to mind that smile she'd seen so many times–a smile that could melt the heart of the coldest people in the galaxy. There wasn't anyone alive who could hold a candle to her mother, of that Bunny had no doubts. "I thank you all for joining us tonight. As you know, this is a very special night. For many years, the stars have spoken of change coming to our system. The omens have been mixed and moody, often times reluctant to reading, but there was one thing all the signs on all the planets agreed upon. Tonight, the message of these signs has come to life. After seven years of training, a new generation Sailor Senshi, the esteemed guardians of their respective planets, have been given the full power of their birth right, and for the first time in history, they are all together now, on one planet."

A slight mummer spread across the crowd like a wind-born ripple on a stream or pond. Serenity waited for it to pass before she continued her speech. Raising her hand to insure silence when the tide seemed to have stilled, Serenity went on, "Not only have they gathered, but they have agreed to form a new court. Until now, all of our kingdoms were mostly kept separate. Delegates, Ambassadors, are sent between kingdoms... but some of us are still reluctant to forgive wrongs of the past."

Again, Serenity was cut off. This time, the mummer was more energetic. Some voices sounded angry, even with the threat of guards not too far by. Bunny found herself tensing. She prayed there would be no true problems tonight, but it was a prayer she was beginning to fear would go unanswered. "With this generation there will be a new order. As all the Royal Houses came to pledge for peace in those woeful days following Mau's destruction, these children have come to pledge themselves–not to me, but to my daughter. Through the planets, there will be a combined law enforcement; a combined effort to make our system safe for us all. These are the Guardians, the defenders of our realm; from this day forth, they will answer to no one but the High Queen. Their armies will answer to them alone.

"From this day forth, there will be no more inner planetary war, for there will be no leaders to go rouge."

This statement at first shocked the crowd past the point of anger or indignance. Serenity had used her most powerful card with this, even Bunny knew it. Before Serenity, there was war and chaos among them all. She had lead them from the darkness; she had destroyed that nameless evil that had consumed Mau; she was their savior, how could they defy her? This loss of royal controlled armies might have been seen as weakening the separate royal houses–and indeed, that's exactly what it was–but she made good points. Without armies to command, the planets could no longer wage war amongst themselves. This way would also solve the problem of an outside force being able to worm its way in so far as it did with Planet Mau. No longer would the peoples be out for only their own protection.

The silence didn't last for long; before it could really register as anything, even awkward, these thoughts had gone through the crowd like lightning in the sky. The assembled rose, cheering and applauding their Queen's wisdom in what had been seen thus far as a strange, and somewhat treasonous movement.

Serenity had to raise both hands this time to calm her people. Her smile, warm as always, held a note of triumph the gathered overlooked; it was only right that she be pleased, after all, many had expected this formal proclamation of what she had planned to go awry. "Please welcome them, the eight Sailor Senshi, who have come to reclaim their new stations; as is fitting, this is the first time they have appeared in public outside their own home worlds."

The Queen moved to the side, taking a place behind her daughter's own chair. A comforting, slender hand was placed upon Bunny's shoulder, and the girl looked up to grin at her mother. The herald was introducing her new Court then, and Bunny looked away before Serenity could reply. All eyes had gone to the back entrance of the Royal dias were the Senshi would appear.

"Introducing her Ladyship, Princess Amiru Gwynn Ap Nudd Mercurous..." The Herald's voice filled the entire pavilion though he didn't shout. Behind him, the curtain parted and Amiru mounted the steps behind him. "Ami," Bunny whispered to herself, smiling at the shy ice princess. Amiru was lovely, Bunny thought, though she didn't know it. Her hair was a dark black that shone with a faint sheen of blue in the light of the moon. It had been pulled back into a woven net of fine silk and pale sapphires so that it only touched the back of her neck. Bunny couldn't help but wonder how long it would be if she ever left it down–possibly even longer than Rayna's or Miran's. That darkness only emphasized the pale skin under it, and the glowing blue eyes. The moon princess at once loved to meet those eyes, they were so beautiful to look at, and at the same time feared them. There was a sadness there that not even her cheer could deny; it scared Bunny, so much that she hadn't even the heart to ask why.

The skirts that Amiru had to lift an inch or so off the floor in order to walk still didn't betray sight of the slippers beneath for all the layers of fabric billowing beneath the main dress. The dress itself matched its wearer as surely as a properly tailored glove fit a woman's hand like the skin beneath it. Its main colors were a brilliant medium blue, like the Earth's oceans from the distance the moon could see them at night, with a trimming of a midnight blue so deep it nearly matched the blackness of her own hair. Ice blue lace, as fine as frost on a morning window pane, decorated the high collar and very end of the skirt, mingling with the darker blue so that it most reminded one of the light water reflected up onto the top of a cave. Bunny thought the dress was splendid, even though it didn't at all match the scheme she and Miran had spent so many hours attempting to put together. They'd known that it was all for naught anyway.

"...Sailor Senshi Mercury!" The Herald finished as Amiru paused at the edge of the dais. She gave a curtsy to the crowd, eyes fixed upon the floor, then stood straight in her spot. There was a pause, customary to honor her position, before the herald announced the next Senshi in order.

"Introducing Princess Miran Aresta Amore..." From the back came the blonde beauty herself. Bunny's focus switched as the curtain parted to admit the shining golden face of her new found friend. As she had before, her lips formed the nickname she'd already become used to, "Mina." The nickname, as well as her full name, fit the princess wonderfully. It was as musical as she was graceful, a quality she showed quite readily in the way she seemed to dance across the dias towards her intended spot. The brilliant spot of sunshine that was the Princess of Venus seemed a perfect contrast to the winter waters of Mercury. Her hair, radiant as spun gold, was left loose to billow and furl around her waist and legs The bright blue eyes in the middle of a healthy pink heart-shaped face radiated warmth and cheer, as did the sway in her steps.

Unlike Amiru, her dress did fit with their plan for the event. Gold and blue in color, as were her planet's official colors, the dress form fit her upper torso, the neckline swooping to show off the little curves she's accumulated in her fourteen years. It boasted no sleeves, but a sheer, shimmering golden wrap helped to ease the chill against her bare skin. The royal blue cris-crossed ribbons across the bodice accentuated the fact that she kept herself in fighting shape, without making the muscles there in anyway unfeminine. It was a delicate balance, but one the Venusian was well accustomed to dancing. She stopped beside Amiru, flashing the shy girl a brilliant grin before she dropped a curtsy to the crowd. Bunny couldn't help a soft giggle at the way Miran purposely showed off a flash of ankle when she did. The Venusian was a tease, and it suited her. "..Sailor Senshi Venus!"

"His Majesty, Crown Prince Endymion Solesti Jade, the Senshi Sailor Earth!" The Herald continued his announcements. Bunny found her cheeks turning pink all over again as the dark haired Earthian Prince ascended the dias. Endymion was dressed in the style of his home country on Earth. From what she'd been told, Earth was a strange place in relation to the other planets. Unlike most, it had a conglomerate of cultures and languages rather than just one predominant one. Though Bunny wasn't sure how that worked, she didn't really care, either, at this moment. While unused to seeing a man in clothing that could be termed as a "dress," Endymion actually looked right in this fashion of clothing. It was, she would later learn, termed a "kimono;" his in particular was a deep black lined with a gentle copper. The colors together made his dark sapphire eyes stand out, even under the fringe of his hair. Bunny ducked her head, trying to hide her blush. He was so handsome, she couldn't even bare to look at him for too long. There was something there, deep inside of her, something that tingled at the very thought of his presence.

The herald took pity on her, then, as Endymion took his place beside Miran and gave a bow to the crowd, "Princess Rayna Contess Necou Mars, Sailor Senshi Mars!"

The dark fury of the war planet came then, her hair flowing behind her like a river of shadow. Rayna had found a dress similar to Miran's own in her wardrobe. The brilliant red dress was accented by crossed ribbons of a black so deep no other color could penetrate it. The stark contrast between passion and despair in the colors of the dress seemed to reflect the personality that radiated from Rayna's shockingly violet eyes. Bunny tried to meet those eyes, but when she did she had to look away. Rayna was calm and stern, passionate and elegant. She was, in a word, amazing. Bunny had to admit that she admired this girl; they were only two years apart in age, but Rayna seemed more like an adult than anyone she'd ever met.

"Her Ladyship, Princess Literi Zusiri Amezin; Sailor Senshi Jupiter!"

A soft gasp rang across the gathering from more than a few lips. Only the delegates from Juipter didn't seem at all surprised by the girl's appearance. Unlike the other girls, she didn't wear a dress–to point of fact, the girl wasn't even wearing men's pants. Bunny found another blush rising to her cheeks now that she knew how little clothing the average Jupiterian wore during the day. A spot of color had appeared on Literi's tanned cheeks at the crowd's reaction, but she never faltered a step towards her place beside Endymion.

The tallest of the female senshi, Jupiter's long legs were wholly on display for the assembly. Only a loin cloth of dark green dyed fur and trimmed with lighter green silk fell between her legs to hide what was there. It seemed a woven band of sturdy reeds or stalks of some sort held the loin cloth in place, a knot of exotic flowers streaming from it down her left hip. The early developed bust was secured by a similar form of woven stalks, braided into two cups–one for each breast–and held by loops over the shoulders and around the back. Inside the cubs seemed to be lined with green silk as well, and flowers held by a woven choker assented her right shoulder. Literi had her hair done up to match, pulled back into a tail and woven into more braids than Bunny thought she'd ever be able to count. Various tiny flowers–Pigmies, Bunny recalled, they grew some in the gardens–dotted into the luscious brown of Literi's hair along with its seemingly customary beads and charms. To top off this barbaric-seeming outfit the princess had on no shoes, and seemed completely ignorant of that fact. Her very stature in front of the staring eyes gave her respect, even from those ladies in the crowd whom looked on the verge of having "vapors."

After that, the next in line didn't seem so strange. "His Highness Prince Hoku Randas Uranus; The Senshi Uranus." Hoku was almost as radiant as Miran was. His hair shone in the light of the pavilion, more of a sandy color than the gold of the Venusians, but still bright in its own fashion. His skin, long darkened from the deserts of his planet, gave him an outlandish look, at least what could be seen of him beneath his robes. Even though Uranus was one of the hottest planets in the system (the highest ranking in that class being Mars) their people dressed in a fashion that seemed as if it would smother them. He was robed from head to toe in heavy cotton robes that brushed the floor and sported wide sleeves much to big for even his muscular arms. The top robe was left open to reveal another beneath serving as a "Shirt" it was tucked into a brightly colored wrap around his waist and fell into pants so baggy they could easily have been a skirt instead.

The only thing at odds with his native garb was that he had forgone the traditional cloth head wrap of his people. A smile strikingly white next to his own skin seemed to split his face apart and he shared a laughing look with the Amazon to his right. Bunny smiled for them, and the way that Lita looked at the prince. They would make a cute couple, she thought, it was too bad that Hoku wasn't staying on the Moon. It was then that the next princess was brought forward–one of the three that Bunny hadn't yet met.

"Introducing Princess Micherite Arista Triton, the Senshi Neptune." Bunny's eyes grew wide at the sight of this beauty. Behind her the crowd seemed to be holding its breath as if some great deity had pulled a string about all their necks at once. Of course Neptune would be put beside Uranus. Like several of the other planets present, the two had a long history of war between them. In fact, the battles between their planets were the only ones still being fought, occasionally. It was mostly scuffles between trade ships–merchants whom hadn't learned how to adapt to the change in their respective planets' foreign policies, but that didn't stop their being bad blood between all concerned. In her favor, Micherite didn't seem much interested in acting untowardly to Hoku.

Bunny doubted that Micherite could act untowardly towards anyone. There was something angelic about her, even baring the tint of her hair. Aqua locks waved and curled about her soft face like the waters her planet was known for. By the radiant light of the moon it seemed to have a life of its own, rippling about as she moved . Her skin was as white as the moon, and made her eyes seem darker than a well. The way that Micherite held herself and moved, a graceful sort of step that once more reminded Bunny of an ocean, was more powerful and beautiful than any dress could have been. Try as she might, the girl couldn't seem to focus on the fabrics clothing Neptune's body. It seemed as if others were having a similar reaction.

Even Bunny wasn't so naive as to not notice the way that Hoku's head turned, or the way he stared. As Micherite stopped beside him, their eyes met and it seemed as if the entire crowd should know. Bunny's hands clasped and pressed into her chest. It was like seeing a love story come to life in the wordless glance that passed between the two of them. Their eyes parted a moment later as the next, and final, Princess was announced.

"Crown Princess Setserin Glacia," The herald's voice filtered through the crowd for the final time, "Senshi Pluto!"

This Princess was much older than all the others, though she didn't show it. Hers was the darkest of all their colorings, with skin a deep chestnut brown and hair so black it shone with a green-ish light under the pavilion. It swept the floor by her ankles, which were perfectly in sight as she did not wear a dress. No, the Senshi stood in front of them in all her glory, the Staff of Time at her side, with the dark Garnet Orb settled in its place on top. A moment of silence reigned for the Senshi of the Underworld as her chilling red eyes swept over the crowd. The same eyes that met Bunny's a moment later.

For one long, terrifying moment Bunny felt herself trapped by those eyes. Then Setserin nodded to her and the slightest of smiles crossed her painted lips. Bunny returned the nod, realizing in that instant how wildly her heart was beating under the press of her own hands. There was something about that woman; a presence that was heady and fascinating and oh-so-dangerous. She returned to reality as her mother had once more taken the center of the dias with Bunny's court still standing behind her.

"Unfortunately there has yet to be an heir born to Saturn, and we could not ask King Sen to attend this function with the situation his Queen and people are suffering," Serenity gave a light, sympathetic smile towards the delegates from the plague-ridden planet. The Ambassador of Saturn nodded tersely in return. Bunny shivered a little in the silver and white dress that covered her tiny form; that man scared her. His hawk like eyes and hooked nose gave him the impression of a great bird, such as the ones that had been sent to pluck the eyes and liver from Prometheus's living form in the ancient days long past. "So please, join me in welcoming not only this new addition to our court system, but a new tradition and way of life for us all."

At this the applause began again, and Bunny smiled as she stood to join it. Everything was going so well! Turning slightly, she let her eyes roam over the line of Princes and Princesses that were the New Court. The High Princess wasn't sure what this feeling was that tugged at her mind and heart, but somehow she knew that there was something here–something special. Something had begun.

* * *

**Names: Japanese name, English dub name, Fanfic name**

Ami — Ami — Amiru

Minako — Mina — Miran

Mamoru — Darien — Endymion (Didn't change from series)

Usagi — Serena — Serenity (Didn't change from series)

Rei — Raye — Rayna

Makoto — Lita — Literi

— Saturn not yet appeared —

Hokura — Amara — Hoku

Michiru — Michelle — Micherite

Setsuna — Trista — Setserin

_ The reason I changed their names is that it has never made sense to me that Usagi and Mamoru's names were different in the "past life" but the rest are just believed to be the same. It makes more sense, as they are technically the same people, that the names would have been different. To make it easier on the readers, however, I chose names that were close to one of their canon names (either english, japanese or both). _

**Terms:**

Crown Prince/Princess The heir to the thrown of the specified planet.

Senshi Prince/Princess The heir to the army of the specified planet.


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N:** _Bwahaha, yes I'm going to make you suffer through the author's note BEFORE the fanfic! Rawr! _

_Ok, but no, seriously folks… A VERY late apology for those of you who were wanting the second chapter, ah… two years ago. Heh. ; I have no real excuses on this, just a note saying that IRL sucks and must be dismissed from school on account of sickness. You know, the kind you forge with a light bulb. I just wanted to go ahead and thank the people who commented on this piece, both here and LJ, and to give you a solemn vow that I won't let this go so terribly long again. Between updates, I mean, the length of the actual text is just… insert favorite adjective here. So, that aside, the second chapter to May I Never!_

_Rae P., AKA, Covenmouse._

_PS. Please excuse me the line breaks. I can't get to allow me to double space anywhere._

**May I Never**

**Chapter Two**

**"Caring Lies"**

"Call me that again!" The challenge rippled through the air with the static feeling that they had all come to associate with the electric Princess Literi. With an irritated gesture, Luna smoothed the hair on the back of her neck once more, her cat-slit eyes looking over the five girls scattered about the room. Lessons had started slowly and now they were at naught but a crawl; Luna was nearly ready to break them into separate study groups if it meant they might actually have time for real work. For the moment etiquette lessons had turned into snapping lessons; sewing was now miniaturized fencing and history simply didn't happen. If the girls hadn't given her silver hairs in the first few hours, they most certainly had by the first week in. At this point Luna was certain her hair was as silver as her mate's and she dared not check with a mirror.

"Call you what?" Miran asked. For all the sugar in her voice the smile she turned upon Literi was nothing less than caustic. The embroidery she had been diligently working on was finally folded down upon her lap and Luna got a look at the messy, jagged stitches and knots over the fine linen surface. Her eyebrow twitched even as a laugh tore at her throat–it seemed the Venusian wasn't as unaffected as she pretended to be! Miran had never been a Goddess at embroidery, true, but her first efforts certainly hadn't been this horrendous! "I simply said, Literi dear, that a little lotion could go a long way with those… _calluses _of yours. Certainly, it must be hard to hold such fine cloth with your skin ripping at it so."

"Whereas with all the lotion you use, Miran, the cloth must be slipping through your fingers."

Luna's gaze turned even as Miran and Literi jumped at the interruption. All three sets of eyes went to the dark-haired princess whose violet eyes remained trained to her work. Luna was proud to note that, though it wasn't perfect by far, it certainly was improving. Slowly Rayna's eyes rose to quirk a finely shaped brow at her cousin. Pink sparked on the Venusian's cheeks, her lips setting into a small, pursed line. Luna couldn't help a faint wince; the last thing she needed was these two fighting as well, but it seemed soon to happen. In fact, from the other two faces in the room, it seemed liable that an all out war was on the verge.

Glancing towards Amiru and Bunny, both were doing their best to ignore the growing problem. Serenity was babbling about... something. Luna felt a hard knot of shame for it, but she hadn't a clue what Bunny was saying and really couldn't pick up the energy to try and tune her in. Amiru seemed to be listening to her at first glance, but a stolen look from the Mercurian told Luna a different story; Amiru was _annoyed_. Whom it was directed towards wasn't easy to speculate, however, and Luna gave up trying even as Literi and Miran seemed to recollect themselves.

Rather than see Rayna's comment as helpful, Literi seemed to be more aggravated than before. Her eyes narrowed at the Martian now, a derisive snort breaking the air between them. Luna winced again before Literi even opened her mouth, already knowing how this was going to end. "Keep your snooty nose out of this, Matches," she scowled, flipping her tailed mass of brunette braids over her shoulder as she turned her attention back towards the Venusian.

The blonde met Literi's words with an indignant shriek. Regardless of the fact that she had already opened her mouth to berate Rayna herself, the attack on a family front by the 'heathen' was more than enough to redirect her ire. "She was trying to help you, and that is how you repay her?" Miran's lips twisted into an ugly sneer, "I really don't see why you even bother to pretend at civility; clearly you haven't the slightest sense of honor—"

"Honor?!" Literi roared. All pretenses of actually working upon her embroidery now vanished completely. Needle, thread and material in frame hit the ground at her feet as she stood up to tower over the sitting girls and the quiet chatter of Serenity dribbled to a halt at this new turn of events. "You're one to talk you brazen harlot! If you and yours had any sense of honor they'd keep their noses out of another's affairs!"

"And if _your_ self-righteous, hypocritical people were keeping their noses in their own business, what call would they have to label us as whores?" Miran shot back. Luna had to bite her lip at that one—the Venusian had a point. No matter, it was more than obvious that they needed to be separated, and _fast_. "It isn't _our_ fault your women are so masculine they have to look to one another for lovers!"

The shade of red that spread across Literi's face was one Luna didn't think she'd ever seen before. She nearly outshone the sun she was so bright, but "Matches" had now entered this feud well and truly broiled. "Miran stop it!" Rayna snapped embroidery frame gesturing widely as she stood to join the fuss. She nearly hit her cousin, who dodged at the last moment and turned wide blue eyes upon the other girl. "This is insanity!"

"I can't _believe_ you're taking her side on this!" Miran's voice hit astronomical pitches without really being a shriek. Luna gave a full body twitch, both her hands rising to rub her temples in slow, tight circles.

"YOU BITCH," Literi roared. It seemed she'd finally recovered from Miran's insult. Luna's eyes opened in time to see the Jupiterian's fingers turn to claws. Serenity gave a little gasp of horror as Literi attempted to launch herself across them to get at the Venusian. Her leap fell a little short, as Mars tried to intercept herself between them, and the whole gaggle of princesses fell upon the floor with a crack that heralded a few chairs being broken. Luna stared down at the mass of brocade, hair, and embroidery thread now writing upon the sitting room floor and could only sigh. How much worse could all of this get?

* * *

It had been four weeks since the girls had arrived on the moon and Bunny had expected things to go a lot more smoothly than they were. Her face puffed a little as she pouted in the silver gilded mirror hung upon the bathing room wall. This was a communal area built beneath the girls' tower but for the moment it was empty of all save the moon princess. That afternoon's trial had ended with more than a few scratches on each of their parts and the others were, she supposed, sulking in their own rooms. Bunny sighed out her held breath and once more fingered the single red line running down her left cheek. It wasn't bleeding, but it was whelped up a little and Artemis had spent half an hour trying to talk her into allowing him to pull a splinter from it. Who would have thought that five slight girls could crush a chair so easily? Then again, it had been a delicate sort of thing.

The slight girl settled back upon her stool and picked up a brush to run through her hair. She'd used to have servants to do this for her. Before the girls had arrived her mother had made it quite clear to her that things were going to be different from now on, a fact which Bunny had been rather excited about. This past month had worn that excitement away and replaced it with a sick longing for the way things had once been. The thing which had enticed her most to this idea of her mother's was the idea that she would again have playmates; some playmates these were! Every day was a hassle now. There was bickering over the breakfast table, so much so that she could barely eat, and yelling matches always erupted during classes. When she'd talk one of the other girls into playing a game during their evening quiet time it'd always be interrupted by some tense or awkward moment that Bunny couldn't seem to dispel. More than anything she just wished the others would learn to like it here.

The fact that they might blame _her_ for being stuck so far from their homes hadn't missed Bunny, though she pretended that it had. As she drug the brush slowly through her silver locks Bunny allowed herself to contemplate this. In the months before the court had formed she'd wished and prayed freverently for friends, for these girls to be her friends. They were kind to her, and patient, and had even made friendly gestures towards her… but towards each other. Had it been her thoughtless wishing that caused all of this? An idea crossed her mind that made her smile. Yes, she would attend the temple in the morning and begin to pray that they would like one another again! Surely that would do something.

"Oh—! Bunny," A voice from the stair gasped out. It was familiar enough and Bunny looked up at the black cat paused upon the stairs. Her face broke into a brilliant grin and she found herself giggling, "Hello Luna!"

"Hm… No one is with you?" The cat creeped further down the stairs and peeked her head about the corner of the door frame the stairs exited into. Her sapphire eyes darted quickly about the room and when she was satisfied that they were alone she gave a curt nod. "Good, good."

"Did you want to talk to me alone?" Bunny ventured, her brow furrowing in the mirror she'd returned her attention to. It was odd for Luna to be behaving in such a manner; certainly she'd never thought so much about prying ears before this! Yet another odd change brought about by the Court.

"It isn't that, exactly," Luna replied with some hesitation. The cat moved further into the room and jumped upon the wall-length counter at which Bunny was seated. She settled herself without much fuss amongst the makeup and cream-jars and other various instruments of beauty the girls kept there. Each girl had their own colour coordinated space to work in, with a matching mirror and stool to accompany it. But even with all their things upon the dresser it wasn't hard for Luna to find space for herself—each of them save Bunny kept her things so neat that nothing crossed over any other girl's space. Indeed it looked, and was, quite deliberate.

With a frown Bunny considered her own silver-adorned space. She had a host of make-ups and jewelry boxes and other various supplies that were jumbled together greatly out of order. Ever since her servants had been ordered to stop picking up after her things had become quite a mess. She didn't much mind it but Raye, whom held the spot to her left, had begun to make pointed attempts at keeping Bunny's mess off of her side, mostly by rather scathing remarks. Bunny didn't understand what was so terrible about her brush being on Raye's dresser—or her accidently using Rei's once. So what if there had been tell-tale silver hairs left in it? She didn't have cooties.

"Actually," The cat continued momentarily, having paused to study herself in the mirror. Luna had a vain spot, much like every other cat Bunny had ever known. She smiled as she thought that, she didn't mind it. "I was sent to tell you that you'll be having your lessons alone again, for a time."

"What?" Suddenly all of Bunny's happiness vanished. The girl dropped her brush upon the dresser, lips pulling themselves into her accustomed pout. "Why? I've been trying really hard at them, honest! It isn't my fault history is so boring!"

"Bunny! Bunny, please!" Luna's left paw landed upon her own muzzle and her ears flattened back against her skull. Bunny knew that look, and that tone of voice. The girl settled almost at once, no matter that the pout still dug moodily into her cheeks, or that she was trying her best to make "pity me" eyes at her teacher. One of Luna's eyes peeked open at her, the sapphire iris dark with uncertainty, "It isn't you. Artemis and I have been talking over what happened this afternoon and… well we just believe it'll be better to try a different approach with the rest of the girls."

"But why can't I try it with them?" Bunny whined. Her hands formed fists upon her knees and she sucked in a deep breath. Her best argument would be needed for this, she knew! "I won't favour any of them, I promise! I like them all a lot, anyway, so I could just split my time between them and no one should be able to point fingers—"

But Luna was shaking her head. "It isn't that, either… though I'm… surprised… and very proud of you for thinking so politically, Bunny." The praise went a long way, even though Bunny tried her hardest not to show it. It wasn't often that Luna thought she had done something _right_! She tried in vain not to smile. "No, I… well. I'm not sure how Artemis would feel about that…"

Luna trailed off and stared into the mirror. Impatiently Bunny began to fidgit in her seat, and for once Luna didn't correct her for it. It was then that Bunny realized how very upset and worried Luna must be. Poor Luna was out of her depth here and struggling to catch up! That thought left Bunny feeling breathless in a strange sort of way. All her life Luna and Artemis had been pillars of strength and certainty. It was as if her very world had flipped upon its head. "I-it's okay, Luna," She offered, feeling a faint squeeze upon her heart, "I'll take my lessons alone… you can get them to stop fighting, huh?"

The grateful look in Luna's eyes was more than repayment for the sadness in Bunny's own heart. The way that Luna's fur relaxed and shoulders dropped conveyed a lot of tension melting off of her shoulders in a way even the young Princess could read. Luna nodded and reached a paw out to place it softly upon her future-monarch's wrist. "Thank you, Bunny. I'll come and collect you in the morning. The other girls will be taking their instruction with Artemis from now on…"

She gave a pause, her ears twitching this way and that in the otherwise silent room. "Don't mention this too them, either, would you? Or try not to at least. … and perhaps you and I will pay them a visit during their lessons in a few days time, after we see how it goes."

"O-okay." Bunny smiled a little more broadly. With great daring she reached forward and scratched the fur behind Luna's ear. It wasn't often Luna allowed herself to be treated as a, well, cat—not by anyone other than the Queen, but today Luna let her. Feeling suddenly grown up, Bunny's smile turned into a grin. She'd never been trusted with a secret before either! She only had to keep it for one day, but Bunny vowed that she would do her best not to let it drop.

* * *

"You haven't said two words to me since this morning," Raye finally snapped, mouth closing upon the final note even as she slammed shut the history book she'd been pretending to read. Mina knew her cousin had been pretending because Raye had been staring at her for the past two hours, whenever she'd thought Mina couldn't see her. It was sad, really.

She ignored the blank diary page before her that had been mocking her for those same two hours. Instead she turned the page, in pretense of their having actually been something on it, and began to write. When she was done she turned it towards her cousin and smiled innocently at her shoes.

"That's right I haven't," Raye read aloud, slowly for she'd had to translate it from Veserite. Though Mina wasn't looking at her she imagined that she could _feel_ Raye's eyes rolling. The Martian gave a contemptuous snort, "Very mature, Mina."

Mina turned the book back around and happily stuck her tongue out at her. The two were currently holed up together in the common room of the Princesses' tower. Thus far that evening none of the other five had man an appearance, something both these Princesses were quite happy about. Mina could have done without another, however. She returned to pretend-writing in her diary, thoughts far to scattered to actually bother putting them to page. The pen she was using twirled idly in her long fingers, the ink spotting the page and her old silk nightgown carelessly.

"You're getting ink all over yourself," Her cousin interjected again. Mina merely arched one golden brow in Raye's direction. That gleaned another eye roll from the dark-haired girl for Mina had gotten that very same, pointed look from Raye. "You could have a little more consideration Mina! That shift cost enough to feed a village for a month."

"Oh not this again!" Mina snapped finally and slammed her diary shut much the same as Raye had the much abused history book. The pen that had been caught in the book made a strange popping noise and ink dribbled down the sides of her diary before being absorbed into the paper there. A little more of it spilt down the front of her nightshift and leaked through to the skin beyond. "Ugh! See what you made me do, Raye?"

Violet eyes narrowed accusingly. "I didn't _make_ you do anything, Mina. Besides, you'd already ruined it on your own. Venusian silk isn't cheap, you know that!"

"I was talking about my diary!" The offending object was then thumped upon the desk with enough force to jar it. The glass ink well that had been perched rather precariously beside Mina's elbow wobbled upon the desk. In another second, too fast for the blonde to react, it toppled over the edge and landed open-end down upon her lap. Little more than an irritated, muffled shriek left Mina's tightly closed lips as she stared down at her black-spreading and very damp lap. In the padded chair across the room Raye giggled.

That tore it. With a single fluid motion Mina grabbed the bottle up before it'd completely emptied itself and lobbed it with deadly accuracy towards her cousin. Caught off guard, the Martian's skull gave a rather surreal sort of 'thunk' when the jar collided with it, and Raye jerked back against her seat. The book she'd still been holding hit the floor and quite suddenly there was a rain of deep black ink staining her dress, the chair, and her face. It quite matched the red mark carved into her forehead. Yet somehow the only thought that Mina really registered was the fact that her marksmanship was a lot better than she'd thought it was.

Then the shock wore from her cousin's eyes and the Martian clapped a hand to her forehead. "WHAT THE HELL?" Raye roared, all pretenses of dignity and maturity dropped like an autumn leaf. She surged to her feet, free hand balled into a tight fist at her side, "I can't believe you just did that!"

"I can't believe you took that tramps side over mine!" Mina retorted and found herself quite suddenly on her feet as well. She didn't quite know how or when she'd gotten so close to her cousin and nor did she care. With all her might Mina willed Raye to go up flames for real. All the rage she'd been trying to hold in since that morning's mishap finally found itself roiling out of her gut and out her mouth. Nothing had been right since they'd gotten here! Nothing! "I'm your blood, Raye! Me. You've seen how she's been treating me!"

"Is that what this is about?" The Martian laughed, a single clipped note so mocking that it made Mina snarl. "Oh come off of it,Miran. You're not even trying to get along with her! I'm sick and tired of you two going off at each other all the time. Some of us would like to do our work."

Mina could hardly believe her ears. Her nose wrinkled, though she knew how ugly that made her look, and she couldn't help the scoffing noise which erupted from her throat. Betrayal made her stomach roll as surely as if she'd eaten week-old ham or curdled milk. "Aren't we high and mighty today? I'm sorry, Raye, we can't all be as mature and forgiving as you and Amiru." Mina gasped suddenly, eyes widening to affect an innocence they both knew was a lie. She covered her mouth partially with her hand and felt a great smile threatening her cheeks, "Oh, wait, that's right. You don't acknowledge her existence. How silly of me! And here I thought you two were actually—"

A stunned silence followed the crack that rang out through the room and echoed upon the walls as if it were an empty chamber. Or maybe that was the sound in her head. Whatever the case, Mina watched in numb bemusement as her cousin's eyes went bright and cheeks turned red even as she felt her own face mirror it. Her left cheek had quite a different reason than anger or hurt for turning read, however.

"Girls," A calm male voice interjected into the disquieting silence that hung upon the room like a shroud.

Both Princesses turned as one towards the white feline paused just inside the doorway to their chambers. Mina's fingers brushed her stung cheek slowly, the soft pads causing her to wince. Even with the pain it didn't quite seem real. From the corner of her eye she noted Raye's hand dropping loosely to her side and the curiously dead expression upon her cousin's face. "… Go to bed," Artemis's voice remained steady. Mina had no doubt he'd witnessed what had just happened and she knew that Raye, too, realized that. Yet there was no lecture. "I'll see you in the morning.

Without pausing to consider what that meant Mina took the chance to grab her diary and run for the stairs. Tears beginning to drip down her face, she didn't care or even notice when Raye didn't follow.

* * *

_Black rain dripped from a purple sky. Lightning blazed across it, silent and bright, illuminating the strangely hued clouds. In the distance something roared but it was not thunder. She looked down and the ground dropped from beneath her. She was falling and in her mouth she tasted metal._

* * *

The rolling hillside of Sevil was actually quite beautiful, Endymion reflected from the backside of his bay-coloured mount. This wasn't his favorite stallion, the handsome piebald Marthos that he'd raised from a colt, and his backside was telling him quite loudly that the next time they took a trip like this he wouldn't leave him behind. Marthos was in Chihana, half the world away, and they'd had to make do with whatever the Jadeite's family kept in their stables. Half of the stables were empty this time of year, the pick of the crop gone to market up north, and what was left was either too old to keep up, too young to be ridden, pregnant, too precious of breeding stock, the families' personal beasts, or geldings kept on for more mundane purposes. With most of the family out on this hunting trip all the personal beasts had been taken, breeding stock wasn't meant to be ridden by anyone other than their handlers (they were very particular about that) and that had left the four geldings they'd been stuffed onto. Jadeite had tried to offer Endymion his own mount but Endymion knew as well as the others did how attached Jadeite was to Principe de Viana. But the gait on this horse was going to leave him with bruises so wide spread he'd have a black and purple backend for the next week.

Well, it wasn't as if anyone was going to look at that anyway.

In a vain attempt to ignore the jarring his hide was getting, Endymion attempted to take in the view of the countryside around them. This was the northern part of Castilla, the southernmost kingdom of Pangaea. Most of the country was interspersed desert but the north and eastern most sectors were brilliant green farmlands, much like the Jade their son was named for. Savil was its capital, for all that it was not the sprawling city Endymion was accustomed to calling to such governmental areas to be. Things were quite different in the south than they were the rest of the country, however. The large majority of the residents here were compiled of two quite different nomadic groups in the desert. The first were the Romani, dark of hair and eye, which loathed intruders and whom no one save the ruling family of Castilla had any real knowledge of. The second were the Harasites. This people were by far friendlier and more inclined to allow strangers to into their midst, as long as they behaved by the people's rules. _And listened to at least one sermon_, Endymion couldn't help but add with something of a sour note. He didn't know if the Romani were as fanatically religious of the Harasites and it didn't seem as if Jadite were inclined to enlighten him on the subject.

Either way, both of those groups were far out into the desert sands at this time of year. Endymion's party had only just missed the trading caravans that had come in each autumn and they wouldn't return for anything short of an emergency until late spring or early summer. Jadeite hadn't been the only one among them disappointed to have missed them and today's hunting trip was an attempt at reclaiming some of the time lost that they might have spent at trading fairs as much as it was an attempt to find something for tonight's table. In the distance angry storms rolled through the heavens, signaling the coming winter.

It was cheery where they were, though, and Endymion trusted Jadeite's knowledge of his own country to tell that they wouldn't get caught in a downpour.

This was the third "type" of people that populated the South; Jadeite's people. Ironically, it was Jadeite that was an oddity here in his own homeland. The indigenous people to the area were dark of skin, if not as dark as some of the people to the southwestern islands, and hair and eye. Brown seemed to be the major stable, with true-black hair being the epitome of beauty amongst them. As many of them were born with brown it was the fashion in these parts to dye one's hair darker or else shave your head and opt for a wig of some sort. The most common were made of goat hair and worn by the averagely wealthy commoners; the least were made of human hair sold to the cause and seen only among the nobility, for they were the only ones rich enough to afford it. Only a few blondes had ever been born naturally here, and mostly due to foreign "contamination." The Fuegojoyan family was certainly known as just that in more than a few circles.

Endymion shook his head, chuckling faintly at his own thoughts. Since their spat on the Moon Kingdom Jadeite had been moody and… well, frankly he was sulking. As much as Endymion truly loved his friend, there were times that he was tempted to agree that he was as much a virus as any of his power-hungry relatives. Such thoughts weren't kind, friendly, or diplomatic and it was times such as this that Endymion was quite grateful that none of his friends were mind-readers.

"You're awfully quiet today," Nephrite noted after awhile. The novelty of the Crown Prince riding among them had long worn off with the nobility here. Most of the ones whom had agreed to this venture were either far too old for him, or too "well bred" to speak to him directly without an expressed invitation to do so. Endymion was quite happy with this as it meant he'd not have to casually flirt with yet another girl he'd rather not hold company with. He could have hit the idiots who envied him his position. As it was, he had been allowed to drift away from the main group; though he wasn't lagging behind, for such a thing would imply disfavor to Jadeite, he also wasn't close enough to encourage conversation. This was fine, as was Nephrite's gentle interlude.

"Woolgathering," Endymion shrugged lightly as the Prince reined his own mount in beside Endymion's. The two carriage horses whickered at one another, perhaps in recognition for they were a matched set, but otherwise didn't seem to mind much. Thankfully these _were_ carriage beasts. Even though their gaits were horrendously painful, which wouldn't matter a wit when pulling vehicles, they were well trained at working in close quarters with all sorts of other arrangements, the least of which being their own kind. It was no stretch of the imagination to think that had these been any other sort of work beasts he and Nephrite might even now be on their faces in the dirt. He could see by the look on Nephrite's face and the tender way with which he was seating that the other gelding was just as poorly paced as Endymion's was.

After a covert glance about to make certain that no one was in hearing distance, Endymion continued, though he made certain to keep his voice pitched now enough that no one was likely to hear. Certainly Zoisite was being loud enough for all of them near the front of the group, helping Jadeite harass a few of the Ladies of the court; the girls were being quite good sports about it, and, Endymion couldn't help but notice, giving back as good as they were given. "Its customary for us to attend King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella this time of year, yet I can't help but feel that we should be doing something… more. There are council meetings to attend with the High King, public hearings to judge…"

"Homeless to shelter, diseases to cure, earthquakes to prevent," Nephrite replied slowly. Endymion's shoulders straightened slowly, dark eyes glancing towards his friend. The brunette prince wasn't looking at him, however, instead gazing at the dull moon peeking through the blue of the evening sky. It was early, wasn't it? Endymion had no way to judge… but it certainly seemed as if this hunt was going to end with empty hands. "Endy, even Princes', even the _Crown_ Prince must rest sometimes. Yes, you have a duty to your people as we do ours, but our lives are not all fun and games. Even we deserve a holiday."

Endymion considered that for a long moment, eyes trained upon the path before them. In the long grasses of the fields that stretched beyond their hunting party he could just see the waving river trails the hunting dogs were leaving in the grass. He thought it looked more like broiling pot of snakes untangling itself and each going about their separate way for you could see nothing of the true animals underneath. Riding horses into that length wasn't going to be good for any of them—or easy. He pulled his horse back even as the leaders began to do the same. "I'm sorry, Nephrite," Endymion said presently, watching the Royal Hunters confer with Jadeite at the front. "I know this is a break that you all have been looking forward to. I wonder, though, why we didn't stay with the new court. Wouldn't it make more sense for us to be there… doing something?"

"I'd considered that," Nephrite shrugged, "But it seems to me that we'd have been in the way. We four are just guards; while we have rank, true, we wouldn't have enough to be properly included in that court without causing a stir amongst the Moon's own nobility who share rank with the four of us. It would be unseemly to ask you to leave us behind, for you are _our_ High Crown Prince, and thus we are your court. Our lot at your side has different connotations than either the Moon Senshi or a host of mere guardians."

"I suppose so," Endymion agreed with some reservation. Nephrite had always understood people and protocol better than he had, and it was one of the greatest reasons why Endymion was thankful to have him around baring their friendship. Without Nephrite's quiet intervention he would have made a fool of himself a thousand times over by now.

"Well there are other factors as well," Nephrite gave a shrug of one shoulder and made a wide, pointless gesture with his hand. "You're male, though Senshi, and thus they couldn't cluster you together with the Princess as they were the rest of her Inner Court. Hoku wasn't staying, either, for matters of urgency, and thus you would have been treated differently than the other Princesses. While it may not have mattered to you, it could easily have mattered to your parents, to the ambassadors, or even to the Earthen public were rumors to be circulated—and rumors _always_ circulate. It might have even mattered to the Princesses, for I'd wager to assume that at least one of their ranks is upset with being put into so close of quarters with the others. Even if it is meant as an honor."

Through all of this Endymion nodded feeling more the fool the longer Nephrite went on. In order to attempt saving a little face, he interrupted, "And then there's the fact that another tradition between our planets is that the denizens of the Earth and Moon do not mix. … But really, Nephrite, how outrageous is that? The moon can hardly sustain its own population; they can barely grow crops there. If it weren't for the light crystals…"

That elicited a laugh from the brunette and Nephrite shook his head slowly. Amused, he gave a helpless shrug, "All of these things have their explanations, Endymion, but as the Queen herself has been saying for some time now, all things _must_ change. What was good and true for past peoples may not necessarily work so well in modern times. Without change things stagnate and die."

Unable to help himself Endymion laughed as well. The laughter relieved some of his tension even as Nephrite's words managed to negate some of the guilt he'd been feeling. He'd never been able to justify a moment without work in it, a fact that Nephrite knew only too well, and once again he'd fallen upon his comrade to be lifted back into security. A part of him thought that he should be scared to think that he'd be lost without them, and yet the rest of him swore unwaveringly that it was right he feel this way. They were his bulwarks, and he theirs, against anything that might come to pass. His brothers, always.

The dogs had returned and were now milling about the horses hooves, and some of the ladies' high strung palfreys were making a bit of a fuss about it. Nephrite and Endymion shared a look of understanding before each went to settle down the ladies and their horses, both. It wouldn't due for any of them to be tossed and none of this lot was of the simpering sort to which you could, with a fair amount of guilt, be happy such a thing had happened to. Soon it was announced that the game was sour for the day and the entire party returned empty handed to the castle, though the Royal Hunters stayed behind. They would continue on, alone and mostly on foot, until they'd found something for the supper table.

* * *

The rest of the evening passed with an equal amount of boredom. Dinner was light of heart, conversation and true intelligence, and the various social gatherings they were required to attend afterwards were tedious at best. Nephrite had never been one for the court, despite having been born to it. Here in the Castle Aragon nights were long, and getting longer as the year dragged ever towards its end, and its population insisted that the nights were meant for dancing, or singing, or card games, or any other number on a list of pleasures that could, should you have a mind to do it, cover the walls of the entire palace in its paper. That was what he had never understood about his social class—the sheer amount of persons with nothing greater to devote their time to than amusing themselves.

This outlook wasn't very sociable of him, a fact which he'd been well lectured over, and Nephrite had given up the idea to change it.

Certainly there was a degree of effort that went into the lives of the rich. Some of them worked, but very rarely. Others pretended to work, often jostling for positions upon entirely useless "councils" of this, that, or the other, according to which one was said to be more prestigious at that point in time. In order to play at this game one had to be able to keep up with the level of intrigue which went into divining what councils were actually prestigious and at the proper moment, a skill that was very hard to develop as the running tally on the nonexistent score board changed from minute to minute. Furthermore, one also had to keep track of which councils had fallen out of favour, when, what the reason was and make certain that when the crucial moment came you were no longer a member of said council, had politely severed all ties to it long before the situation had blown up, and most importantly that the blow up was absolutely not your fault.

Even these poor, and quite possibly insane, individuals could be overlooked so long as the councils they played with had very little to no power whatsoever. In his own homeland there had been one rather embarrassing incident of a Council for the Preservation of Butter-fried Chicken. How exactly that made sense, or why anyone would admit to being a part of it Nephrite would never know. Nor did he think the cook would ever look at him the same way again. Nephrite shuddered and drowned the last of his wine before handing it to a passing servant girl.

If anyone thought this odd no one mentioned it and nor did they stop him as he rose and slipped quietly from the over-crowded drawing room. It had been filled quite early on that evening with those persons who made up the worst of the nobility, as far as his tastes were concerned—the youth and the sham-youth.

He was not an old man by anyone's count, barely into his seventeenth year, but he had always fit in as well with this sort as a goat fit a kid glove. These were the ones that lived for nothing save fashion, popularity and their own amusement. Even their council-seeking counterparts had pretenses of a life _doing _something, which was probably the saddest part to that lot. These children did not. The girls warbled their way through sugar-sweet songs of purest love, hoping to impress males of higher status with their ability to warp music beyond all recognition and then males doted on them, praising their tuneless clucking in hopes of blinding one of these girls to the fact that his parents no longer had money, or that he was a trifle lower in rank than she.

They played at flirting as other splayed at rummy but with far more on the line than a handful of coins. No, the chips that this sort were so happily bargaining with where themselves or, occasionally, their sons and daughters. Nephrite detested it. The entire ordeal made him sick to his stomach, but there was no getting away from it.

Growing up with or within the nobility wasn't the easiest thing for any child. Certainly there wasn't a single one amongst them whom he'd ever met that acted as anything resembling their age, not the same way that a commoner's child would. Unknown by his parents, Nephrite had made a habit early on of dawning stolen page's clothing and slipping out amongst the common folk of their land. It was there that he'd learned to play, to laugh, and to be a... child.

By comparison the "freedom" of riches was stifling. Too easy was it to fall into the trap of thinking that money or power could somehow buy you the happiness and affection that every human needed. And here it was amongst his peers, the fully realized version of that. Rather than trading their money and power for the sake of love, they traded their bodies for money and power; it was all that mattered to them anymore. Prostitutes and whores in gilded clothing, the lot of them. It was no wonder that they looked down upon the women in the brothels—they saw too much of themselves in those jaded, haggard eyes.

Alone in the corridors, Nephrite allowed his feet to wander even as his mind did much the same. Built high upon a cliff overlooking the rich, fertile farmlands below, Castle Aragon sprawled the "hillside" like a great white dragon bathing itself in the moonlight. Hills; Nephrite scoffed and stopped before one of the many large, open windows that overlooked the single-story of the palace's eastern wing far below. It stretched out into the night, the head of his imagined dragon, to cradle the hill's slope between the spears of its forked tongue. Surely this was what the architect had in mind when he'd built it so many eons ago; there was nothing else that would account for so easy an illusion.

Gaze following the crest of the hills, he slowly guided himself up the hills on the other side of the valley. These were not hills as he knew them; he, raised upon the plains and easy, rolling land of the west. To his mind these were mountains, surely, for all that their peaks did not reach into the sky did the ones now a purple haze in the distance. Though he had seen mountains, and even been amongst them, here and now these "hills" still seemed too high. Nephrite preferred the ground, the solid earth beneath his feet. He would never get used to these heights, even if he did have a head for them.

A flash of light along the northern border attracted his attention. Nephrite's eyes arose to the distant heavens where, as if perched upon the precipice of one so mountainous a hill as the one upon which he was standing, the moon hung resplendent in the night sky, cushioned by a dark skirt of clouds. A spot of thunder echoed in the distance, betraying the source of the flashing. He'd spotted the clouds when they were riding, all of them had, but the weather witch had told them it wouldn't be until tomorrow that they saw any of it. It seemed she was wrong in her estimations and Nephrite felt his heart drop a little further. He hadn't brought his observation equipment with him for it was too delicate to withstand so speedy of travel as they'd made. Regardless of that, he had thought to find his way to the roof for a few hours of speculation of the heavens before he'd gone to bed. The nobility of this castle were all late risers and the Shittenou included amongst them when they were here for courtesy visits such as this.

The speed at which the clouds were moving told him that it would be pointless to attempt it. Instead, he leaned upon the window he was at and allowed the gradually rising winds to seize upon his hair. Soon enough the servants would be up to close the shutters but until then he was free to stand as he pleased. It was beautiful enough of a sight to be worth it, however.

Somehow the moon remained bright though the clouds swarmed about her. Lightning struck, faster now as the thunderheads built. This was from the north, he mentally called to mind a map long since memorized of all of Pangaea, so it would be a storm brought in by the great Blood Sea. There wasn't much that came from that place save a wonderful assortment of skin products and tempests. Nephrite sighed to himself. If it chose to pause in the valley, as these sometimes did when they were low enough to be blocked by the "hills," it would be an interesting day or two in Aragon Castle. But for now the lighting danced circles around the moon, as if the brilliant light show were somehow a part of her.

* * *

Truly happy moments in this forsaken place were rare and when did they occur Lita had learned to savor them. Just as she was savoring the succulent flavor of the light, fluffy and sweet strawberry tarts the cook had made up for them that morning. The Jupitarian Princess smiled to herself as she inspected one such miniaturized tart in her hand.

It was well done. The pastry was light and crispy without being overcooked, the glaze chipping off of it in a way that managed to be artful without being too terribly sticky, and the berries held within were brilliantly red and perfectly in their prime. Lita had never heard of strawberries before this and the cook had confessed to her, when she'd dared to sneak into the kitchen to ask, that they were from Earth originally. He kept a small number of the plants in the greenhouse and had thought the girls would enjoy them. He was right, Lita giggled to herself.

The strange, reasonless laughter went unnoticed in the strangely empty room. Since their bodies had adjusted to the Moon Kingdom's standard time she'd been eating alone less and less; today she hadn't a clue what everyone was about and didn't at this moment care. Instead she bit into the tart, eyes closing and a small moan of pleasure echoing from around her mouthful of pastry and fruit. Amazing; simply amazing. Lita only wished she knew how to make something as fine as this.

The table had already been picked over when she'd gotten downstairs to it. Every morning the five, supposedly, had breakfast together. A small buffet was laid out on a side table in the common room and their main table, which also tended to serve as a desk when one felt the need to study in company, became their breakfast table. Assuming the girls were already up and elsewhere, Lita had taken up whatever she saw fit, and gone back for a trifle more once she'd discovered a new morsel she particularly liked. That was one of the greatest wonders and joys of this palace—the variety of foodstuffs was unmatched.

Some small voice, which had the nerve to sound like Luna, whispered in the back of her mind that there was a political reason for that. There was _always_ a political reason. Lita didn't know why that bothered her, just as she'd never managed to pin point why it had always bothered her back home. Life was politics—that's simply how things were when you were born royalty. Of course, her younger sibs didn't have to worry about that.

Lita stared at the tart accusingly, as if it were somehow the pastry's fault that her jealousy had ruined the previously happy moment.

She sighed at it just as another girl came stumbling down the stairs in a comically sleep deprived fashion. Comical because Miran tripped over the last stair and nearly took a tumble. The girl caught herself, rubbed one bleary and somewhat swollen eye with a grubby fist, and continued to stumble her way to a chair. All of this Lita watched with mouth hanging open to the air, tart poised before it as she waited with bated breath to see if Miran would fall. When she didn't, Lita's jaw snapped closed into a disappointed frown. It then reopened to inhale the last of the strawberry tarts, but not before Miran had gotten a good look at what she'd been holding.

"… Where did you get that?"

Miran was not a morning person in the slightest. Lita could tell that without knowing the girl in the slightest. It was written in her poof-ball hair, which looked as if someone had wet it, tied it in knots, and then taken it back down when it was tried to leave kinks. …and then tossed the Venusian threw a hurricane, for good measure. Between that and the curiously ink blotted silk shift, ink stains all over her arms and face, and red eyes Miran looked like hell warmed over. Against every fiber in her body resisting it, Lita couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the other girl.

That pity broke easily. Before Lita had even the chance to respond, Miran had continued on. Her accusing eyes glanced over the yet-plentiful remains of the breakfast table to find that the only plate completely empty was the one the tarts must have been on. There was even a sprinkling of tell-tale crumbs of pastry and fruit. "You ate them all."

Dumbstruck by the flat statement, Lita could only stare at the other Princess as hard, bloodshot blue eyes turned upon her. Miran glared, a glistening coming to sparkle in her eyes that Lita had the sense to apply to the fact that her eyes were likely dry and needed it. Yet there remained a quiver in Miran's accusing words which begged to be examined. "You know some of us have the manners to share with others, rather than be such a fat, selfish pig."

What was with this girl? All thoughts of pity or even tolerance once again flew out the window as that hard knot of hatred that had been loosening recoiled into Lita's stomach. "How do you know it was me?" She replied, indignant that Miran would pin her losing out on a treat at Lita's shoes. Didn't she always, though? It didn't matter in this moment that Lita did the same to Miran and she wouldn't have listened had anyone been there to point this out. Before she could continue with her retort Miran interrupted her.

The blonde's hands pressed against the white tablecloth covering the table and stood. The chair scraped the tile beneath it without care to the damage it could cause. "Because I know you, Literi! You're a fat, selfish little snob! I saw you eat the last one!"

"Because I had already bitten into it, you stupid, inconsiderate, bratty… bratty… BLONDE!" Literi stood as well, though she'd already been at eye-height with Miran while sitting. The beads in her ever-braided hair clacked about it, a sound not unlike the thunder that accompanied winter rains. "Just because you're too lazy to drag yourself out of bed at a decent hour—"

"Don't start with me, you don't know one thing—"

"Oh I don't know, you don't know! You never even—"

"—about me or my life, I'll have you know I had a very upset—"

"—attempted to get to know one thing about—"

"Girls."

"—ting day yesterday and I'm tired and your fat just—"

"—my life! Like I should bother with yours after everything you—"

"GIRLS!"

The shout made its way through the two of their arguing the second time it was given and both stopped midsentence to throw identical glares towards the door. Artemis leaned in the doorway, fully human and glaring at the two of them in return. His long silver hair trailed down nearly as long as Miran's, but it was much, much neater than her's at the moment. Lita huffed a little, her eyes boring into his. Eventually, though, she had to give in and was pleased to note she'd lasted longer at the staring game than the Venusian. That pride didn't last for long.

"Well I see you're awake." The heat of Artemis's gaze did not let up in the slightest. Nor did he invite himself into the room as he might have another time; instead he remained with the door propped open that the servants, whom moved in the halls beyond, as well as an idlly passing courtier, might catch sight of them. Miran's cheeks went red, for she obviously knew what she looked like, but to Lita's surprise the girl's back straightened and shoulders squared. It was as if she were proud to be seen so bedraggled!

Lita filed that thought away for later study. Right now, her attention needed to be on their overseer. It was odd that he saw them this early in the morning. Artemis's abilities as a teacher laid more in tactics, weaponry and diplomacy than any of the skills they were concentrating on at the moment. Though each girl had a practice session with him in the afternoon, individual study, there were currently no other lessons scheduled from him for anyone but Miran. What exactly Artemis was teaching her Lita didn't know, only that she went to see him for an hour after dinner each night. A distant part of her wanted to believe that the Venusian was sleeping with him on the sly… but no. Artemis had more taste than that and he was very obviously in love with his mate.

"Miran, go upstairs and dress. Make certain you eat something, but make it fast," He ordered. Before she could run off to do as he said, Artemis held up a hand to stop her. "You'll both be meeting me out in the salle. Don't ask questions, just come, and dress for a work out." With that he dropped his hand and waited until Miran had disappeared back up the stairs before leveling a look at the Lita. It wasn't just "a" look, as such, it was "the" look. The look that fathers knew very well, though Artemis claimed to not have had any children. This look was one designed to make you feel at least three feet smaller than you were and twice as insignificant. This look stated, wordlessly, that "I'm disappointed in you," and "you can do better than this."

A flash of indignation told her that he should have been giving that look to Miran, who had started this! Saying as much would only make the man even more angry… and it would lable her as a coward and a tell-tale. Lita wouldn't have any of that and so she kept her mouth shut, guided her eyes to the floor and waited until Artemis had left before she punched the table. One of the china plates tipped off of it to break upon the floor. Lita didn't care.

* * *

The morning sunshine broke through the large, windowed ceiling that covered the salle. Unlike most ceilings of its nature, which would have been formed of various panes of glass inside a lattice work of iron webbing, this ceiling was born of a single pane which looked as if it had once been half of a giant glass bubble, now perched upon the rooftop. It was quite a bit sturdier than it looked, of course, but that had never topped students from worrying that it would blow away in a wind the first few times that they saw it—at least not in his long memory. Artemis smiled fondly at the room about him, wooden walled unlike much of the palace. Here there was still colour, though very little of it. Light had long since begun to bleach the golden-yellow from the planks in the walls and floor, and even if it had not most of the wall space was already taken up by enormous floor-to-ceiling mirrors. A light dusting of sawdust covered the boards beneath their feet, to better help the traction. It also threw up a lovely cedar wood smell each time a body moved, a personal delight to Artemis's nose. Otherwise the place would have reeked of sweat, blood and leather far more than it already did.

The greatest wonder of this room was not the glass bauble ceiling, the mirrors, or even the oddity of wood construction material in the Moon Palace. No, the most miraculous thing of all was the sight of three young girls (no, women, he had to remind himself. Though they weren't acting terribly mature at the moment they were still, each and every one of them, considered to be adults in this world) so different from each other, so hateful of each other, standing before him looking sufficiently miserable. Perhaps the lesson would stick this time.

Artemis wasn't a sadist by nature. Neither was he a sadist by design, really, but the past month had worn upon his already shot nerves as nothing else had. The two fights from the previous day, and the one he'd walked into that morning, had been the proverbial straw which broke the camels back, as it were. They had originally planned to put this part of the Court's duties off for another year or more, but Artemis knew now that it couldn't wait. There was too much here, too much between them, that wasn't being aired sufficiently.

The pacifists at court were going to have his throat over this.

"So," He continued, eyes roaming slowly over the line of them. As he tried to meet her eyes, each girl turned them away somehow. Rayna simply slid hers to the side, Literi closed her to a degree that he could not tell where they laid, Amiru's cast themselves upon the floor and lastly Miran's, still vaguely bloodshot from crying, remained fixated in his direction. They were so unfocused he had no doubt that she didn't truly see him and was only making pretenses of paying attention. Well, he hoped for her sake that she'd tune him in soon enough. "You girl have been screaming at each other like barnyard animals? Then you can settle matters as they do, I'd wager."

That certainly got their attention. One by one their heads raised; bewilderment and, yes, a little trepidation now showing upon their young faces. They were scared. Well… good. They should be.

Artemis turned and walked to the double-doors at the side of the salle leading out into the gardens. This was the only entrance or exit from the room and he planned to stay there until they were done. Once he reached the doors, he turned about on one heel and leaned against the doorjamb. "Well? Begin."

One by one the four Princesses ceased their staring at him and turned to face their true enemies—one another. It was amusing in a morbid sense of the word to see each pair pick one another out, though they'd spaced themselves by consent apart from one another in line. Miran and Literi sized each other up with looks that could be termed as nothing short of predatory. Shock was still there, of course. It wasn't every day that Princesses of the Blood were encouraged—nay, _ordered_—to beat upon one another! But underneath that shock was raising the very hatred and animosity that had kept them going at one another verbally for the past few weeks.

Between them and around them Amiru and Rayna were doing the same to one another. This part Artemis felt a shade guilty about. Though Rayna and Miran had been having problems of late as well, the pair of them had managed to keep out of the most trouble. Their solution was an easy one, even if it wasn't the one that Artemis and his co-conspirators had hoped for; they simply ignored one another. So long as they avoided directly answering one another's comments or questions—and remained as distant and polite as they could when there was no option but to address one another—the two got along perfectly well. This sort of fake "tolerance" wasn't what they needed, however. That attitude was only a battle-dressing, not meant to serve as a bandage for the long run.

A light breeze whipped into the salle through the open doors, stirring Artemis's hair as it did. All three Princesses had their hair quite wisely bound, of course, and so they felt it in little more than the tug on their clothing. He wondered how much was really getting through the hatred that each of them was broiling with. So far they'd done nothing but stare at one another and yet the tension in the room was livid and growing more so by the moment.

Just as Artemis was beginning to believe that nothing would actually come of this the first punch flew. And, much to everyone's surprise, it was Amiru that threw it.

Completely catching Miran off guard, the Ice princess whirled in step, tiny fist compacted with rage, and it caught the blonde squarely in her chin. Artemis winced at the sound of it, watching dispassionately as Miran fell to the ground. Standing above her now, hot tears running down a strangely frosted face, Amiru broke the astonished silence, "Lay off my sister you opprobrious skank!"

_Trust it to the Mercurian to use ancient vocabulary in her insults_, Artemis couldn't help the amused thought and he watched dispassionately as "Matches" grabbed Amiru by the scruff of her shirt and drug her backward. Literi intervened, of course, and then they were off. After the first few motions it was hard to tell whose limbs were going where in the pile of hair pulling, eye clawing, kicking, screaming, _biting_ mess of females tumbled across the salle floor.

Insults flew as harshly as any fist, but Artemis only caught bits and pieces of that as well. The end result was something akin to "You two timing, backstabbing I ought to rip your backbone to pieces and stuff you like a monkey's could have done a better at grade school whoring slut you ride your grandfather's dick." The last piece made his eyebrows rise to his hairline. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for the girls he couldn't tell which mouth it had come from. Ten minutes ago he would have said that it couldn't have possibly been Amiru… but then again, he also wouldn't have pegged her as the type to go along with something like this.

Eventually they wore themselves out. The sun had moved a little higher in the sky, and the girls each laid upon their backs, staring up into the glass dome above them. There were a few traces of blood among them, four counts of black eyes, a bloody nose (though it didn't seem to be broken, Artemis was happy to note), bruised and battered limbs under torn garments, and all of them had had their hair escape their bonds at some point or another. If at least one of them wasn't nursing a fine headache at the moment Artemis would be damned.

With carefully measured steps he reentered the salle, stepping over arms and legs and hair until he stood in the middle of it in a position where he could survey the lot of them. Again, none of them could meet his eyes and Artemis sighed. This was a start, but it wasn't going to be the end of it, as he had hoped. They weren't sorry, none of them. "So be it, then. Gather yourselves together and see the healer, then go to your quarters. You're each confined there for the evening. Tomorrow morning you'll report to me here, again."

There was a shuffling noise as they began to move. Artemis shook his head, "Stop right there, I'm not done." Each stopped in place and none of them dared to groan, which pleased him, "Your classes are hear-by cancelled indefinitely. Each of you has had sufficient schooling that I doubt you really need a teacher anymore. Instead, I expect you to keep up with a lesson plan I'll give you at the beginning of each week and study in your own time. You'll have a short exam every week to make certain that you're keeping up with your work. Those who fail will cause the entire group to suffer."

Treasonous glares were given a plenty. That was when Raye finally sat up. "On whose orders are you doing this? You're not a Senshi and you never have been. You have no right—"

"I am your guardian, by order of the High Queen," Artemis returned with a snap. He put as much force behind his words as he could, hoping to drive it into her skull without further incident, "What I order for you is law. I can guarantee you that everything I say has been approved by the High Queen; if you feel the need to ask her yourself, you may apply for an audience with her in your free time."

The Martian's mouth closed with an audible click but her eyes… oh, her eyes were still rebellious. So too were Literi's and Miran's. Only Amiru's would no longer meet his and for the life of him she did not seem at all angry. This didn't mean that she wasn't, by any means, and Artemis earmarked for himself that he should watch her more closely from now on. "As I was saying," He paused to cast his eyes once more about the group before he went on, "There will be punishments for not keeping up with your studies as you should. Do not be the girl who causes the others to suffer. Rather than study your lessons during the day you begin to further your skill in the art of war. This will include weapon work, rudimentary tactics, training with your Senshi gifts, and, the most important of all, _teamwork_.

"It is absolutely essential that you four learn to work together in a reasonable and well organized manner. I do not care if you learn to like one another, but you _will_ learn to respect each other and keep civil tongues in your heads. What happens in this salle will _stay_ in this salle. That includes today's performance, Ladies."

During his speech he had paced across the salle back to the door. There would be no questions, not today, and he stopped by the doors to wait as they picked themselves up and filed out. "Now, get yourselves cleaned up. Use your own intelligence to deal with the servants and healers, but remember—each and every rumor going around this palace, every little _story_ you come up with… I _will_ hear it."

With that note they had left his Salle, each looking even more miserable than they had been when they came. Artemis shut the heavy wooden doors behind them, to emphasis that they were dismissed and then turned to clean the salle by himself. After today the girls would be helping him do this, but for now…

The cat sighed and shook his head. He hated lying to them and yet… sometimes lies were needed much more than the truth.

"I care," He whispered to no one.

* * *

The smell of rain still hung heavily in the air, though the storm had dissipated sometime that evening. Nephrite had laid a blanket down upon the shingles but the damp still managed to soak in through his back; he didn't mind. Two days had the storm laid over their heads, locking each and every one of them into the Castle. Or the stables, if you had a mind to run through the tempest for the haven of a barn filled with horseflesh and grubby stable boys. Their company, however "lowly" was certainly a lot better than that of the courtiers after the first few hours of being trapped with them, however. Nephrite took a deep breath full of the thick night air, the cold of it rushing down his throat and into his belly. He never minded the cold; compared to the northernmost reaches of his own realm this chill was nothing at all, it hadn't even left a frost upon the ground. Finally he could look at the stars and get away from the noisy, self-indulgent noise of the castle below.

Settling his hands behind his head, long hair spilled out beneath him like an amber halo, Nephrite smiled up at the heavens hanging before him. He'd traveled the stars up close many times and yet there was nothing quite as satisfying as the view of them from a distance. So far as he was concerned he never needed to board a ship again. Were he to be completely honest with himself Nephrite didn't _want_ to board a ship again; _ever_ again. He hated them, though the vessels journeying through space were far easier to bear than those whom rocked to-and-fro in the planetoid waters.

No, gazing at them from a distance was more than enough for Nephrite's taste. He smiled up at the familiar constellations, ever faithful in their voyage across the night sky. No matter where he was in the world, Nephrite knew that he only had to look up once the sun went down and he would have at least one familiar friend. Quickly he let his eyes find her, his constant, his beloved… the North Star. It was strange to have a love affair with what he knew, from close observation, was little more than a pocket of intermingling gases. The scientific part of his mind warred with the romantic, wanting to envision that there was something more to her beauty and vigilance than mere coincidence of positioning could account for. A sigh escaped his lips and upon its note thunder roared.

Thunder. Nephrite frowned when the thought registered and he sat up, unsure for a moment of what he'd heard. But the sky was clear! It wasn't hot enough to be heat thunder, or so he though…

Slowly the Prince climbed to his feet, cautious as always of standing upon the gently sloping (and currently quite wet) rooftop. The shingles didn't slip from his feet, however, and he turned to take a full survey of the sky around him. Black on black was never easy to differentiate, even for someone as used to watching the night sky as he. Ten minutes later he had still not spotted any clouds or signs of an electric storm and he had just begun to wonder if, perhaps, he hadn't heard anything at all when the noise sounded again. It was a distinct rumble, much like thunder but with an undertone of fire to it which he'd never heard before outside of a bonfire. Nephrite found, turning towards the East… and that was when he saw it. Tumbling from the sky, tiny balls of light from the darkness. At first they seemed as stars, moving at a strange speed across the night sky. Then he thought that they might be ships, skimming too close to the planet's atmosphere. The flight pattern matched no ship _he_ had ever seen, however. A frown crossed his face as the gold and red streamlets of fire began to multiply in the night sky. They weren't big, these things, but they were certainly no laughing matter, either. It was then that one hit, right against the Eastern horizon. Even this far away the ground shook and he witnessed a brilliant flash of light. Twice more this happened, and then night fell silent.

Nephrite's knee dug into the hard shingle and he realized he'd fallen to his knees to steady himself. His left arm had grasped a nearby chimney, the brick scraping against his palm, as a further stabilizer. Slowly, testingly, the Prince rose to his feet and began to make his way down off the roof. He didn't care how late it was, he was going to tell Endymion about this! Only one thing further registered with him before he slipped back inside his open bedroom window—the air tasted like copper.

* * *

**Glossary**

**Names: Japanese name, English dub name, Fanfic name**

Ami — Ami — Amiru

Minako — Mina — Miran

Mamoru — Darien — Endymion (Didn't change from series)

Usagi — Serena — Serenity (Didn't change from series)

Rei — Raye — Rayna

Makoto — Lita — Literi

— Saturn not yet appeared —

Hokura — Amara — Hoku

Michiru — Michelle — Micherite

Setsuna — Trista — Setserin

_The reason I changed their names is that it has never made sense to me that Usagi and Mamoru's names were different in the "past life" but the rest are just believed to be the same. It makes more sense, as they are technically the same people, that the names would have been different. To make it easier on the readers, however, I chose names that were close to one of their canon names (either english, japanese or both). _

**Terms:**

Crown Prince/Princess The heir to the thrown of the specified planet.

Senshi Prince/Princess The heir to the army of the specified planet.

**Places:**

Castle Aragon — Jadeite's castle in Castilla

Castilla — the land to the South, realm of the Fuegojoyan's (and where Jaedite is a prince)

Chihana — (_briefly mentioned at this point_) The capital of Endymion's realm.


	4. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE**

"**Invisible Rocks"**

It was raining, not that that mattered in the salle; the few errant fireballs that escaped out the door disappeared easily into hissing steam. The frightened servants had long since fled the area, and even the guard that had turned out to watch them was now absent. The gloom of daylight that had been hanging above them began to ebb and the thunder rolled.

A "fireball" wasn't so obvious a term as one might think, Artemis considered as yet another barely missed his head on its way into the night beyond. The acrid scent of singed hair caused his nose to twitch and eyes to narrow; there was no point to being upset when the girl hadn't done it on purpose. The "ball" wasn't really so much a round form as it was the bulbous, tumultuous shape plasma took as it burned, the head of its plume considerably bigger than the tail that slacked off behind it. The last was a small haze of smoke, white and thick. It left quickly, battered by the winds that came with the winter storm, yet the smell of it was still strong. Nor did it help, he thought, that Jupiter was setting as much aflame as her opponent was.

That was a tactical problem. In a fight, allowing your power to supplement your opponent's was essentially shooting ones' self in the foot. Mars grew stronger with each fire a misaimed spark of lightning struck upon the wooden floor, as anyone could have seen by how enthusiastically those fireballs kept coming. Certainly both had desperately poor aim, but Mars still had the greatest reserve of energy.

Then again, Jupiter had the sheer luck of a storm rolling overhead to help her. He was just grateful that she hadn't thought to call the lightning through the ceiling. Yet.

To either side around the salle, Mercury and Venus were doing their parts to fight the fires the other two Senshi inadvertently set. Mercury was the more adept of the two at this particular exercise. A few months ago Artemis might not have acknowledged that this skill was more than the purest of luck—but he'd never trained an Ice Senshi before. Water was a slightly different element than its fraternal twin. Ami needed the cold and chill even as Rayna needed heat, and for similar reasons. While the Salle hadn't quite reached boiling temperatures—an event they'd staved off by opening the twin doors at the head of the room—neither was it a walk in the park. For a being so used to ice caverns and snow sculpture, Amiru was holding up quite well. Every so often she would dash from the building and into the rain to relieve herself of the heat, a habit that was soon mimicked by Venus, and to re-gather moisture for her power to use. Not even she could form water out of nothing and the steam inside the building evaporated quickly enough that there was nothing for her to use.

It didn't seem as if either girl was willing to stop. As he watched, Jupiter dodged a blow from Mars' gloved fist (the girl seemed slight but he'd become acquainted well enough with those thin, razor-like knuckles to wince as if it had connected) and came up with a shoulder to her middle. The wind was knocked out of her but Mars wasn't down yet.

She dropped and rolled, coming up a few feet away with an arm tucked around herself. One of the heels had broken off her left shoe and had long since been incinerated. She took the time now to kick the shoes off. At once Artemis was proud of her for using them as weapons, kicking them with deadly accuracy at her opponent.

On the other hand, he noted even as he heard Mercury squeak indignantly when one of those shoes connected with the wall right before her face, it was also a bad idea to throw your last weapon away… and to leave the soles of your feet exposed.

Jupiter knew better than to use a killing move on the other princess, but the grin on her wicked face and the antennae sprouting from her tiara told him that she had seen it too. "Mars, you're dead." he announced, stepping out from the sidelines even as he held his hands aloft to separate the girls. The raven haired princess glared at him and the winner chortled.

"Shouldn't've taken your shoes off. Leaves over-exposed areas on your body." Jupiter offered with a hand out. Of all the girls, she was the one who had taken to Artemis' ideals of "sportsmanship" the easiest. They weren't used to congratulating one another on a spar, no matter who had won, and this was shown yet again in Mars' hesitation to the shake. In the end she gave Jupiter her hand, if only for a very brief second.

"If that's a deciding factor then couldn't you have electrocuted me to begin with?"

"The soles of your shoes would help to prevent that. The material they're made of guards against such things, and that protection is extended by the protective spells built into them," Artemis replied. "With another opponent it might not have mattered, but against Jupiter it does. You should be careful about what you choose to throw away, even if it seems broken."

"Hn," the princess replied. She gave a nod of respect to Jupiter, however, and moved to find said shoes. They were all covered in glistening sweat, even Mars, and not simply from exertion. Now that the fires had stopped cropping up Mercury and Venus had both collapsed against the walls, panting, and the cold was creeping in from the doorway. He went to the doors, pulled them shut and latched them, soaking himself through as he did. Artemis didn't mind terribly much, not with the amount of singed clothing, skin and hair he was sporting. He turned to face the tired Senshi.

Mars had sat down next to her cousin, black and blonde heads leaning against one another with their eyes closed. Both were red in the face and Artemis was struck by just how much family resemblance there truly was between them. It wasn't obvious at first glance (indeed, he had wondered in the beginning), but the bone structure underneath the radically different colouring was the exact same. They had one another's noses and chins and cheek bones and ears… they would seem as twins if either of them would submit to hair dye.

On the other side of the room, radically different Jupiter and Mercury were in much the same position. Mercury had drawn her legs up to herself and was nursing a burn on her ankle. Jupiter looked at it as well and Artemis was glad to note that she wasn't throwing glares or insults at Mars on the assumption that it was the other girl's fault. These were baby steps but at least they were walking.

Fall was slipping quickly into winter and the chill from outside promised snow—combined with the rain that meant a murky, freezing, and ice-filled morning on the morrow. Mercury would be quite happy come the daylight, though the rest of them (especially Mars) would be suffering. They'd had enough for today. "Baths, the lot of you... no," Artemis raised a hand to stall Jupiter from helping Mercury to her feet. "Except you, Mercury. Jupiter, could you see her to the healers?"

Jupiter nodded and resumed pulling the petite ice-princess to her feet. Mercury came up without the barest hiss of pain, a sign of how strong she was becoming. Unfortunately it just wasn't enough. The pair limped out with their arms about one another and the doors slammed shut behind them.

Mars and Venus were slower to rise and Artemis heard a trickle of dialogue in their corner behind him. He wasn't close enough to understand the words and his ears in this form were not quite as sharp as those of the cat. Artemis wasn't bothered by this, let them have their privacy—the past month had been a strained one between them. "Mars. Venus." he stated and turned slowly to allow them a moment as their conversation died. Both girls' eyes looked up at him as he spoke, lips becoming still, "Don't worry about the salle tonight. Continue on to the baths." That was all that needed to be said and Artemis turned on his heel to venture into the rain. He wanted a bath, himself, and a bed; and were he lucky that bed would contain a warm and willing wife.

They were each sore from the top of their scalps to the soles of their feet, and covered in the bruises each of them had begun to expect of daily life. Years ago, Mars had thought she'd known what pain was; training for any sort of physical activity was never easy, especially at the beginning. Those days were far distant and she was now realizing how little her training had actually covered. She'd come to the conclusion days before that her teachers had gone soft on her.

Unlike the other girls, Raye had not been trained by her predecessor. Ranfan had gotten some benefit of the last Sailor Mars' experience, but a tragic accident had killed the woman two years before Raye had been chosen. Ranfan had taken up the full burden of the power at that time, but even then had not been considered to have the full title—it simply wasn't how things were done.

As she reflected upon this, Mars descended the last step into the Princess' basement bathing chamber. The steam gathered inside from the large, open pool of hot water that filled the back of the room felt wonderful upon her skin. Without any preamble she allowed the power to fade from her body, the Senshi uniform turning to red light and dissipating into thin air. Behind it was left the ratty, work-torn clothing she'd been wearing before. These Raye stripped hastily and left in a barely folded pile beside her dresser. Behind her Mina was doing much the same, and neither girl seemed to be in the mood for speech.

A simple glance told Raye that her cousin had as many bruises as she did. They both resembled the splotched dogs several of the moon courtiers had begun to favour as pets and hunting animals, she noted with some amount of bruised vanity before turning to descend the ivory-carved steps into the bathing pool. There were two in this room, built into the back of it, and completely communal, as all bathing chambers on the Moon were. Much like Mars, the people of the Moon didn't mind nudity, so long as it was homosexual. Venus, by comparison, was a place of heathens where anyone and everyone roamed naked as they pleased, despite mixed genders.

Both of the pools were reached by short stairways, one leading up into the higher pool, and the other leading down into the lower pool which Raye and Mina were entering now. The waters here were cooler—though not as cool as they would be during the summer. To Raye's taste the water here was nearly chilled, but she could tell that Mina didn't think so by the expression of relief upon the blonde's face. Raye attempted to ignore this and reached for the soap and a washcloth. This pool served as a place to clean oneself. It was situated lower than the rest of the floor with two small vents in the wall which sucked the water into a pipe system. Raye wasn't familiar with the mechanics of this, but she had been told that this system of pipes somehow purified the water and reheated it and sent it right back up to the pool above it. It was ingenious.

By contrast, the pool above them was far more to Raye's taste, even in the dead of summer. It was meant to be used as a soaking pool for the relaxing of muscles and joints and to sweat out the impurities from one's body. It held clean water and it was considered very impolite to the others to get soap or dirt in that pool. So Raye made quick work of scrubbing herself crimson with the flowery soap provided here and rubbed a thick, liquid version of the same into her hair to clean it. The waterfall pouring out of the higher pool was perfect to wash one's hair clean and as soon as the last trace of bubble was free of her raven, unmanageable mass, Raye hauled herself back up the steps to the main floor. From there she traversed a second flight, made less dangerous by carpet weaves safely adhered to the steps, and immersed herself in the blessedly scalding waters. When she came up for air Mina had joined her.

"You know," Her cousin waved a single index finger at her, eyes closed and cheeks stained pink, "There are days I think you crazy for enjoying this."

"Should I assume that this is not one of them?" Raye replied with a smirk. She let her back find one of the smoothly sculpted rests on the side of the pool and leaned her head back against the border. Heat bubbled slowly from the bottom of the pool—Raye didn't bother attempting to understand this technology and merely thanked the Gods that someone had invented it—splashing water against her cheeks and arms. These days she was thankful for their time in the salle, no matter how sore her body became. So long as she was moving and sweating she was _warm_; the temperature continued to drop by handfuls every day.

"You would assume correctly, cousin dearest," Mina replied with a haughtiness belied by the giggle that followed it. Her long, pale legs picked themselves out of the water and deposited the feet attached to them in Raye's lap. Raye peeked one violet eye open to see the blonde across from her lean back as well, arms draped luxuriously at the edge of the pool and head reclined onto the porcelain. The Venusian's eyes were closed but a grin across her face told Raye that she thought this funny. For a moment the Martian considered a retort and then thought better of it. Instead she let it pass. Eventually Mina began to speak again. "I don't think I've worked this hard since Aunt Saville passed on two years ago."

"At least you had a Senshi to teach you," Raye replied. Miran uttered a noise which seemed to encourage more and Raye shrugged. "I don't think I've ever been pushed this hard, physically."

"But you're good at it," a low voice broke, grudgingly, from the door. Raye tilted her head so that she might see around Miran's languid form. Jupiter strolled into the room, the much shorter form of Mercury leaning against her side. As Raye watched, their power enveloped the each of them, one as green as a forest after the rain and the other a chilling blue which caused her to sink further down into the heated waters.

"Hardly," Raye replied and closed her eyes again. "You beat me in all our spars."

"Yeah," Literi replied from somewhere in the darkness of Raye's eyelids. "I have a lot of practice at it. You just said you didn't, but you've been holding your own with me for good periods of time. That's promising."

The waters around her shifted with something more than the mere movement of bubbles and Mina's sulky Veserite mutterings reached her ears a moment later. "The barbarian is paying you a barbaric compliment—charming." Raye kicked her. There was a squeak in response, followed by an indignant "Hmph" and Mina fell silent.

"So Artemis says," Raye replied in as even a voice as she could. The water splashed in the pool beneath them as the other two girls slipped into it. Amiru was remaining decidedly quiet this evening, but Raye hadn't missed the bandaged wrapped around the other girl's ankle. Nor did she miss the slight hiss as Amiru entered the water. It was common belief that their Senshi power healed them of everything but the girls knew quite well that this wasn't entirely true. Yes, the power gave you the ability to shrug off nearly fatal blows and would help you to stabilize such an injury, should you live to tell about the battle that gave it to you… but minor scraps, cuts and burns? For some reason the power did little about those; Raye suspected it had to do with balancing things out. There was no reason for the power to save them from such things, and they served as a _pleasant_ reminder that they were not immortal, only long-lived.

"Artemis says a lot," Literi laughed, a sound not unlike the rustle of leaves across a forest floor. Raye found herself wondering what Jupiter was like, to produce a girl such as this Princess. "Have you worked on the history assignment he gave us?"

Mina shifted her feet upon Raye's lap. The Martian could feel the irritation radiating off of her cousin's body and tried to ignore it. They had been having this same fight for the past month and it was beginning to draw upon her nerves—making idle conversation with the other Princesses was not an infringement upon their friendship! That was a lie, of course, but it was the sort of lie that everyone in the court had to pretend was the truth. "I have."

"It's interesting, isn't it? I'd heard of what happened to Mau, of course, but I had no idea just how bad it really was. And to think that Artemis and Luna actually lived through that… It kind of gives you a new respect for them."

Mina sat up and climbed from the tub. Opening her eyes, Raye watched her cousin descend the stairs to the main level of the bathing chamber and wrap a golden towel about herself. Without comment or even a glance at the others the Venusian moved to her mirror and began to work the knots out of her hair. Raye couldn't tell if the cause of this was temper or the heat. Certainly Mina's skin was flushed red and her lips were pale from the heat, but Raye had also witnessed the Venusian take hotter baths than this when she had visited Mars in their childhood. At least she had not left in a huff.

"I cannot help but feel that there is more to the story than that," a quiet whisper of a voice broke into the conversation. Surprise washed over the Martian when she realized that Amiru had actually spoken; that did not happen often, much less so when it was a conversation that Rayna was a part of. "The books which I have found upon the subject simply state that an enemy from outside the system stole in and poisoned the mind of Mau's queen; they do not say where the enemy came from, nor how it worked its ways upon her."

"Everyone from Mau is dead, save Artemis and Luna," Raye replied, though this line of thought intrigued her. "Surely if they knew they would have said."

"Either way, it's over." Literi shrugged. "Queen Serenity blasted away the darkness with the Ginzuisho."

"And with it, the entire planet of Mau," Mina put in with a sobriety far unlike herself. She turned away from the mirror to cast one baleful blue eye upon the other three. Raye frowned; this sort of seriousness was not the kind she'd grown up to expect from Mina—and she had a point.

"Are you saying that Queen Serenity was wrong?" Literi asked, clearly too shocked to remember that she and Mina weren't on speaking terms.

"Of course not!" Mina gave a snort and returned her gaze to the mirror before her. The comb in her hands sang through her golden locks, already having freed them of the majority of their tangles. "Just… that… the whole situation was a bad one, including its end. We study it for a reason, not just because it happened to our teachers."

"I didn't say that—"the Jupiterian began to protest, offended, but before she could a silver dart came streaming in through the door.

"You're early!" Bunny exclaimed. Her hands clasped together, the sound echoing about the cavernous room, and Raye thought that the mark upon her brow sparkled a little. There was something about the fawn-like, ill-proportioned moon Princess that one couldn't help but like. Perhaps that was why Raye found it so difficult to be near her—too much of her liking for this Princess felt like a compulsion of a sort, a magic spell. She knew that, rationally, it was nothing more than a certain amount of natural charisma which brought this on, but this rationale did little to appease the unsettling discomfort Bunny brought to her heart. "I would have come in sooner if I'd known that!"

Raye felt one eyebrow lift at that comment and she sat up a little straighter in the pool. "We're just bathing, Bunny. What does it matter?"

"Leave her alone," Literi retorted as she dunked her still-braided head under the waterfall, "She wants to be with us. Is that so hard to figure out?"

"Yeah!" Bunny nodded and began to strip her dress out without much care for the fact that it was delicate and expensive. In that Raye was reminded of Mina far too well, and she twitched when Bunny left the dress like a rag to soak up a water trail Mina had left behind earlier.

"You know, you could take better care of that," Raye snapped, unable to help herself. She would have picked it up but that would require her to leave the comfort of the heated water and face the chilled air about them. That simply wasn't going to happen.

Bunny had been descending the stairs into the lower pool. Raye's voice caught her off guard, or else she slipped, or her own hair tripped her (such things were hard to be sure of when Bunny was concerned) but the girl slipped and fell head first into the pool beneath them.

"RAYE!" Literi howled even as Amiru gave a startled shriek and they both dived to catch the floundering moon Princess. It took only a few seconds for the writhing mass of silver hair, flailing limbs and curses in various languages to fill the chamber with noise. Raye brought a hand to her face, both temples suddenly throbbing.

~~**~~

The Jump Point glowed briefly behind them, marking the pocket of "subspace" they had just left. It fluctuated a moment and then vanished. Micherite paid it little mind, save for the blue hue it briefly left upon everything before it. Her eyes were for the blue planet not too far from where they were now. It hung in the void of space an aqua-marine titan, no mere trifle to be bothered with. She imagined she could see the waves foaming above its ocean, the spirals of her castle puncturing the azure sky above its desolate crag. After a long voyage she was ready to be home and it seemed that her crew was of the same mind. All about her the sailors flew, tending to their ropes and sails and this and that. Micherite knew nothing of ships. Though she had made several attempts to learn nothing had ever stuck and finally she had given up on it. Such a thing wasn't like her, who would pound and lash against a subject until she had conquered it, much like the Ocean of her world.

The sea Princess sighed, gloved hands resting upon the carved railing of _Neptune's Pride_. Her father's ship, for she had none of her own, glowed briefly beneath her hands. As always, Micherite lifted one to inspect it even though she knew nothing would be there. The power that guided this ship resonated with her own, for it originated from the same place. Deep in the heart of the ship laid its core, a conch shell as big as an infant that had been plucked from the bed of the sacred gardens, as had all of the ships' shelled cores in the Neptunian fleet. Their power was the power of the planet itself, manifest in a subtle aqua-marine glow that hung over the ship like a mantle, protecting them from the devastation of space beyond. Most persons were unable to see that glow, save when ships were entering a planet's atmosphere, but Micherite was not most persons. She was Senshi and given with that was the blessing, and curse, of seeing such things. Micherite was only grateful that it was possible (and mandatory) to learn to "switch off" that sort of vision; otherwise she'd have gone blind a long time before.

Still, certain things crept through, like the faint glow from her hands.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it to me," a laughing voice observed to her left. Micherite jumped in place, biting down upon the squeak that threatened in her throat. Wide eyes turned to the woman standing beside her. For a long moment the Neptunian Princess could do little more than stare at this unknown figure. Certainly whoever she was, she wasn't a crew member! The clothes the woman wore were too fine for that and of a cut Micherite was only vaguely familiar with. She couldn't imagine that a stowaway would be so bold (and stupid) to reveal themselves to her, of all people, and so her mind was left at a blank.

The amusement upon the blonde woman's face only grew bolder as the silence stretched between them. The grin on her face was dazzling and Micherite felt a blush beginning to grow there, no matter how it confused her that it would be. And then it struck her like a bolt of lightning in the form of those teeth—those inexplicably white teeth and sandy skin and hair…! "Hoku," she stated, her voice flat to even her own ears.

"Ra," The woman replied, holding one finger aloft.

"… Ra?" Micherite frowned. She was fluent in Uranian (one did not fight an enemy so long as they had without learning their language for tactical purposes) and "ra" meant nothing so far as she knew. It simply didn't fit in with their language's structure… perhaps it was slang?

Hoku shook her head, a laugh welling up in his-her throat that was surprisingly gentle. Bold blue eyes peeked from beneath his-her sandy curls and that smile flashed again. Micherite's voice caught in her throat. "Hoku_ra_. I do believe I'm a woman… at least for the moment."

"Ah," Micherite replied smartly. She shook herself, bodily, and fixed a more pleasant smile upon her face which she knew would not reach her eyes, "I didn't realize you changed your name when… like this."

"Like this," Hokura echoed, rather than answer the unasked and obvious question. If anything the Uranian Princess seemed more amused than ever. The strange, unthinkable attraction Micherite had been feeling suffered a very quick death at that, and she found herself straightening her back and shoulders as she might have before a political enemy. Which, were one to be truthful about the matter, many still believed the Uranians to be. One of Hokura's sandy eyebrows, hard to see upon her tanned face, raised in brief question at that and she looked no less amused. "It amazes me to see how many people view this as a disease."

"You don't?"

"Should I?" Hokura countered with a surprisingly hearty chuckle. Formality had obviously been chunked out the porthole, at least on her part. Micherite wasn't certain how to respond to that; the only persons she'd had around with whom it was appropriate to be informal were her sister, Nephrina, who was often too busy these days, and her Moon Senshi, who were often tending to matters in their own homes. The only ones she saw often at all were Proteus and Larissa, her selected guardians. They had not been allowed to accompany her to the Moon Kingdom, and therefore they were not here now. The idea of being so casual with one who had been her dire enemy much of her life was not a comfortable one… but neither could it have been for him?

_And_, Micherite had to remind herself_, Hoku… ra… has been working as hard as I have towards peace. I could do worse than be friendly with him._

All of this flitted before her thoughts in the matter of an instant, and Micherite shook her head before there was an awkward pause. "I… suppose not."

"Ah, the hesitation!" Hokura laughed again, finger waggling in the air. Micherite frowned, beginning to become a little hurt though she hadn't the words to explain why. Yet. Hokura must have caught that in her expression, for she sobered a little and offered, more gently, "Most people hesitate, don't worry about it. Apparently this makes most people uncomfortable."

"I should think any man would be made uncomfortable by… this." Micherite replied slowly. She'd heard it discussed amongst her own Moon Senshi. Though none of them were male they were all well accustomed to the idea that Senshi Uranus and Senshi Earth were; it had been a hot topic of debate before she'd gone to the Moon Kingdom—more about Uranus than Earth, she had to admit.

"Baaah," Hokura sighed softly. She turned to lean her back upon the railing, elbows propping up her slender feminine body. Micherite had the chance then to really see the differences the Power had wrought upon Hoku's form: wide shoulders and chest had dwindled into a thin waist and shoulders, and wider hips. There was now a gentle "s" shape upon her body that screamed of femininity as broadly as did her well-endowed chest. Her neck was slender, cheeks more curved, lips soft and kissable.

Micherite tore her eyes from Hokura's face, focusing them back towards Neptune. The thudding of her heart did not stop, however, and a sickening lurch began in her stomach, the likes of which she was sadly familiar with. This was not the first time she had been attracted to a woman and each time left her feeling worse than the last. Such things were… heard of, yes, and very fine for a commoner—but Micherite was not a commoner. She was a blood Princesse and as such certain things were expected of her. This tendency was not one she could afford to fall prey to.

"I'm masculine," Hokura continued on with a shrug, oblivious to Micherite's dilemma. "Each time people consider this business of switching they forget… who you are is not defined by your body, it's defined by your heart." Hokura's hand lifted to touch her breast, that same open, honest grin turning back to Micherite and she chuckled so faintly Micherite doubted anyone else would have heard it. "It doesn't matter to me whether I'm outwardly male or female; my having certain body parts won't change who I am inside and I'm comfortable and happy with just being… me.

"Other men are so concerned with losing their masculinity if they should lose their balls," Hokura shook her head, hand lifting from her breast to brush those soft-looking, golden curls from her eyes. The language, coarse as it was, didn't bother Micherite—she'd grown up with sailors. If Hokura was surprised that she didn't blush as most ladies of "refinement" would have, she didn't show it. "But masculinity is as much a personality trait as it is anything physical."

"One could argue that masculinity and femininity are traits learned through childhood, not ingrained from birth," Micherite replied. Despite her argument she agreed with Hokura's words but she wanted to know what he would say to that.

"Pssh," Hokura laughed, flapping a hand at that and turned again to lean one side upon the railing, facing her. "They can say that all they want, and then explain to me why my cousin Ahkmed likes dresses so much. His parents certainly didn't give them to him as a child!"

Micherite laughed, despite herself. Her hand began to rise to cover her mouth, as was polite, and suddenly it was stopped. Hokura's hands were dainty in this form yet they still retained calluses from sword play that Micherite could feel even through her gloves. This observation was a distant one as she looked up into the sparkling blue eyes that were so close to hers. Hokura was grinning again, amusement and… something else… lighting her face. Mischief? Micherite couldn't tell and the next moment knocked it out of her mind.

"You should do that more often," Hokura told her with much more seriousness than her expression would have suggested. The hand that was upon hers let it go and daringly reached forward to brush one gentle knuckle along her cheek. Micherite's heart felt as if it would explode, her breath stopped and her tongue peeked between her lips to wet them.

The ever-polite first mate coughed from not too far behind them. "Prince Hoku, we have a transmission from the _Sand King_." Immediately Hokura turned from Micherite, hand dropping away, and she headed for the captain's quarters without another thought. Micherite found herself left behind, forgotten by all but the crew, who threw her curious, rebellious, and—rarely—amused glances. She ignored them all and turned sharply to the railing again. This time her hands clenched upon the wood, the light radiating from them plain for anyone to see.

~~**~~

"I keep telling you that this is pointless." An exasperated Zoisite sighed into his muffler. In the heat and sand these contraptions they wore were rather useful; Zoisite had to admit that he had been glad of them even several hours ago—but several hours ago they had not been mired in rain fit to drown a man. The wraps that they wore were soaked in the fat of seals to make them waterproof for just such an occurrence, but that did not stop the water from finding every slight crevice and seam the fold of the cloth offered. His clothing under the wrap had been soaked through hours ago. As if that weren't enough, breakfast had been most of the day ago and the beasts they'd had to travel on to this point were whatever a royal guard station could spare. The Guards were stocked with some of the best of working beasts, true, but they didn't begin to compare with the thoroughbreds he and each of the others had grown accustomed to. Had he bothered to say as much Jadeite would have gladly reminded him that he wasn't at all attuned to horseflesh in the first place—but the Spaniard was also riding his personal mount, not a borrowed nag. Zoisite wished they had run into a trader of good repute on their route. At this moment he would have spared much of his current coin on a horse with a good gait. Yet the only traders they had crossed paths with were only possessed of beasts far worse than the one currently abusing his delicate rearend.

Zoisite knew that the others were just as poorly off as he was (except Jadeite, he would stand by that!) which stopped the majority of his bellyaching. Or it had until this moment.

"And you still refuse to listen when I say that it's not," Nephrite retorted waspishly. Zoisite hadn't realized the Italian was close enough to hear him over the rain but neither did he much care. Once more he raised his hand to wipe soggy blonde bangs from his eyes and had to tighten his hold upon the reigns. This particular beast was much inclined to stop and browse the roadside no matter what the weather and no matter that the near-dead grass which populated this area in the winter would likely give her gas, cramps and all manner of stomach sickness. The stupid beasts hadn't a clue what was good for them.

They had been on the road for nearly a month now, ever since Nephrite had (supposedly) seen those strange meteors flinging themselves upon the earth in one great suicidal movement. Or perhaps it would be "homicidal," in that they would surely have taken a handful of creatures with them to a rather fiery, explosive grave. He'd have to ask Nephrite, once they were in a place where it wouldn't be risking death to do so. Unlike those meteors Zoisite had a great appreciation for his skin that could rightfully be termed narcissism; he had no shame in admitting this, and frequently did so to his mirror upon waking and once more before he went to bed at night. That was, he did when he _had_ a mirror to wake up to, and on the road he had not. This was another large factor contributing to the blonde's current state of dismal mood and complaintive tongue.

Zoisite's eyes closed, a dangerous thing to do when his nag couldn't see in the dismal light offered by a storm and the road wasn't precisely paved this far out of town. This road, if it could be termed as such in this moment, was a quagmire of mud, straw, feces and the-Gods-only-knew-what-else. Yet it was the largest road to be offered in these parts, big enough to draw two oxen abreast, and entirely dirt in good weather. Now it was churned up, splattered everywhere (mostly upon their pants legs, the legs of the horses, and the horses' underbellies), and an absolute nightmare to try and get through. They'd given that up hours ago and had taken to the edges of the road. While still sticky, the vegetation that continued to cling to a desperate and depressing life there made the ground firm enough that they might try and continue on into the city.

Why had they not stopped at that farm outside town? For the life of him Zoisite couldn't fathom Endymion's reasoning. The farmer had been hospitable enough to offer them use of his well to water themselves and the horses, and the farmer's wife had been all too happy to invite them to dinner. To be visited by a Prince was an auspicious occasion for any _noble_—for a commoner it was nigh unheard of! To make that five Princes, one being the High Crown Prince of the entire planet, well… they certainly could have done worse than allow them the use of their barn for the night. Endymion should have asked for it when they'd noticed the clouds building on the horizon.

There was also the fact that the Farmer had had three rather pleasantly faced daughters…

It was useless to think of such things when he was so bone-weary and terribly far away from them so Zoisite pulled his thoughts onto a more productive path: being as annoying as humanly possible. If he were going to be miserable his friends would surely know and share it.

Ahead of him the pompous, round bay ass of Principe de Viana bounced as they ambled along the path. In this weather it wasn't wise to travel at the pace that one would normally assume for long journeys—which only meant that it would take them that much longer to reach their next destination. Out of Aragon they had ridden, much to the mixed amusement and annoyance of Jadeite's parents, and journeyed through the on-setting winter into the lands of the East, Zoisite's home, in search of the site where Nephrite claimed the meteors had fallen. As lovely as it was to be in familiar territory, Zoisite would have much preferred it to be in a much more pleasant season.

"Well, it would be far more likely that this mission is worth the time were we to actually _find_ these mysterious meteors of yours, oh night-watcher," Zoisite replied, raising his voice that the entire party might partake of his infinite wisdom. "As it is, we haven't seen, nor heard, a damned thing in regards to them. Surely someone else would have noticed them… are you certain you didn't just have your head in a barrel of spirits, brother?"

Zoisite imagined he could hear Nephrite grinding his teeth though that surely was impossible over the howling of the wind. Such was his typical reaction, however, and the long-learned memory played in the back of Zoisite's head. It was unfortunate that the brunette was behind him in their bedraggled line for Zoisite much enjoyed watching Nephrite's face when he was angry—it normally took quite a lot to rile him and Nephrite made the _best_ faces. Even had they been facing one another Zoisite wouldn't have seen much at all with their helms in place, of course. He sighed, a pitiful noise that was certain to cause that little tick to go off in Kunzite's left eye were the man to hear it, and allowed his shoulders to slouch. This was beginning to be a bit much; wouldn't they reach the city soon?

As if summoned by his very thoughts, the group broke over a hill just as the storm slackened momentarily and a city spread out before them. _Home_, Zoisite gave a mental sigh of relief and allowed a smile to cross his lips that was safely guarded by the helm's mask. Shortly now the road would be paved with carefully placed stones tiled together with mortar, and the sludge and rain water would be carried off neatly into the sewage system that had long been put in place by his forefathers. Versailles was the epitome of class, second only to Chihana, and it stated as much by having become a shining beacon of hope on this night of deepest gloom. Hm, he would have to write that one down, it was good.

"But soft! What light on yonder hilltop glows?" Zoisite proclaimed, one hand held aloft as they descended the hill together towards the first of the sprawling metropolitan districts. "It is the East and Versailles is the sun! Arise fair sun and kill the envious moon—"

"Will you _shut up_?" Jadeite snapped, turning half upon his seat to glare at his sworn-brother. "If you ruin Shakespeare for me, Zoisite, so help me…"

"—That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she! Be not her maid since she is envious! Her vestal livery is but sick and silver and none but fools do wear it; cast it off!"

"Zoisite!" a voice more thunderous than the storm above them broke through his mutilation long enough to give pause to the speech. Zoisite winced. Beside him an incensed Kunzite stormed, called from the back of their party by his underling's performance. The silver-haired man was leading his horse by the bridal and even to Zoisite's untrained eye the gelding looked rebellious and miserable at Kunzite's hand; he'd never had any way with animals.

Kunzite's eyes glinted eerily in the shadows beneath his helm and though Zoisite sat high above the man he suddenly felt himself an ant, drowning in the damning, heaven-sent waters. "Do you, by some miraculous chance, not realize what heresy you speak?"

"It's just a little fun," the blonde prince heard himself whine and took heart from the 'truth' of that statement. "And it isn't as if there is anyone to hear us out here. I have a right to say that my home is far more beautiful than that desert-like rock."

"Hey!" Jadeite protested from further ahead. Beneath them their horses' hooves struck cobblestone and the five of them began to spread out along the path. The rain worked slightly in their favour now and washed away a small percentage of the mud that had become caked upon them in the journey.

"That's not what I—"

"You need to be more careful, Zoisite," Endymion cut in before any further arguing could be had and another upstart of rain drowned any further discussion. With the rain cloaking each of them once more in its misty shroud it was hard to tell who was where. Only Kunzite was distinguishable for he continued to lead his troublesome mount down the street. One of the others, likely Jadeite, lagged behind and dismounted as well. Within a moment the man was beside Kunzite and the two had their heads bent together in conference. Zoisite didn't need to be anywhere near them to know that the topic of discussion was himself—a fact, not merely ego on his part. He pouted and let himself take in the glory of sleeping Versailles… as much of it as he could see through the downpour.

Like most of the older cities, Versailles had begun as a military capital and even now it reflected its history in its own layout. There were three "tiers" to the city on the hill. The most outward tier, which did not have its own walls, was the one through which they were now riding. Already they had passed the most outlying farms which supplied the city's main source of food and now they drew closer to the tier's end of "working" homes. Tanners, butchers, brick makers, potters, weavers, and all other manner of hard-labour went on in this ring, the likes of which Zoisite was only familiar with in briefest passing. Nephrite, he knew, would have been able to describe many of these activities in exquisite detail, much to Zoisite's disgust. It was one thing to appreciate the craftsman, to his mind, and quite another to actually wish to be one. It didn't matter how many times that Nephrite protested this accusation, saying that it was his wish to be an _astronomer_, Zoisite was as aware as the others in their party how Nephrite worshiped the common folk and their ways.

_Perhaps it was simpler,_ Zoisite considered as they paused beneath the gates that lead into the second tier of the city, _to live a common life._ Simpler did not mean better.

The walls which divided the third and second tiers were thick, wide enough at their tops for five men to walk abreast, and with doubled iron-barred gates so that in times of war one might drop both to trap enemies within them. Once they had done that a rather ingenious, if devilish, hole in the top would be opened where one could pour boiling oil or shoot arrows down upon the trapped soldiers. Many men had died beneath this wall.

That hole was currently capped and tonight the thickness of the wall was welcomed, for it meant that when they stopped beneath them to deal with the guards they were able to wait in a place well out of the rain.

Four torches flickered orange and yellow, one on each corner of the gateway. In their saturated light waited three visible guards, each in the blue and silver livery of the East. Zoisite knew that there were more decking the walls above them and still more in the Guard Station on the inside of this wall, right past the road. Were any trouble to be had, these three men might be lost but they would do their duty to sound the alert and bring their fellows to call. He did not know their names.

The three Princes still on horseback dismounted and gave their legs a stretch. _In any other weather a carriage might have been sent for_, Zoisite thought glumly, _but in any other weather a carriage wouldn't be _needed. One of the guards waved two fingers into the darkness beyond the gate and a small page stepped out of the gloom, looking more like a drowned rat than a human boy. The thin young thing took one look at the five Princes and dashed out into the rain once more.

"This weather is unseasonable, is it not?" Nephrite asked as he pulled his helm off and pushed the sodden chestnut locks from his face.

"Aye, M'Lord, a bit," one of the guards replied with a courteous nod. They would not bow before them now, not until their identities had been proven beyond doubt, but Zoisite thought that the elder man surely recognized the lot of them. "Bit more rain than we're used to this early in the season. Weather witches say there'll be a freeze before long."

Zoisite took his helm from his head and pulled the long tail of golden curls out from underneath his tunic. It felt good to have his hair off of his back. The chill, damp winter wind howled through the tunnel to smack them in the face. "No snow?" he asked of the guards and tossed the helm and cloak over the back of his mount.

"Not yet. Gonna be too cold for that in a week's time," another of the guards answered with a slight grimace. "That's what the temple is reporting."

Zoisite nodded at this. The Eastern Weather Witches were well known as the most reliable of any Gaian temple; if they said that would happen, then that was what would happen. "Have all the ships come in to harbor safely?"

"Last report from dockside was two hours ago, sir. There are still a few traders unaccounted for, but it's likely they took to harbor in Crepes."

He nodded and looked up as a figure came shuffling through the curtain of rain. The Guard Master took a moment shake some of the water from his person. He was a portly man, an odd thing for a soldier of any sort, with a shock of grey hair sprouting directly from the center of his bulbous head. The nose that ran a jagged line down his face spoke of a long time commitment to his career with how many times it had been broken, as did the multitude of scars that played havoc with his features. Zoisite fought the urge to take a step back and wondered that he'd never before noticed this monster.

"Your Highnesses," the man greeted them with a low bow, complete with a rolling gesture of his wrist that might have been meant to serve as a courtly flourish. Zoisite dearly wished that he hadn't removed his helm for it was becoming very hard to fight both an expression of purest amusement and another of disgust. From the corner of his eye he caught Endymion throw him a rather sharp look and he knew that he was not succeeding—he only wondered which had won.

Whatever the expression was it did not seem to matter to the Guard Master. From the inside breast pocket of his uniform jacket (which would have been perfectly cleaned and pressed had there not been a tempest roaring about their ears, Zoisite noted with some amount of satisfaction) the man extracted a simple blue and silver case. It was small and narrow, longer than it was wide or tall, and closed with a tiny silver clasp. This was opened effortlessly by fingers long trained to the trick to reveal a set of five stones.

Each stone was cut into a thin, multi-faceted wafer, smoothed and polished so well that they twinkled in the torch light. The Guard Master approached Endymion first with the case as each of the Princes shed one glove. Endymion reached forth immediately, long used to this practice, and touched the golden stone set in the middle of the five. It glowed in recognition of him and when Zoisite was approached next, he touched the marbled green stone to the golden one's left and it did much the same. Kunzite was next, and his stone glowed pink; Nephrite's was a deep russet-brown and Jadeite's a pale blue. When they had all done this, the case was closed and tucked away and all the guards, Master included, gave them a deep bow due their station. Identities proven, the five hooded themselves, re-mounted and continued into the next tier.

Close to the walls of this district were the homes of the disadvantaged and the lowest of the working classes. Zoisite hesitated to label any place in Versailles as a "slum," but were his radiant city to have such a place within its borders this would certainly be it. Here the housing was crowded and cramped, with barely more than crawlspaces between some of the worst housing. Even in this downpour, at this time of night, there were people about as business did not stop here. The bars were still crowded with reeking gutter life and every so often there would be a huddle of something human-like which peeked frightened eyes out from whatever corner of dry that it had squeezed itself into. Zoisite frowned and turned his eyes from these uncomfortable sights.

Each major street in Versailles radiated out from its central point (the Castle) like the rays of the sun. The four largest, and the only ones ending in gates, were the ones which lead in the cardinal directions: North, East, South, and West. They followed the Southern road now, up towards the crest of the hill from which the Castle Bordeaux rose magnificent. Even through the gloom Zoisite thought that he could see the spiraling towers and silver gilded gates of his beloved home. "A real bed, tonight, Zoi," he reminded himself and felt his spirits lift a little.

The closer that they got to the castle, the larger and more grand the city became. By the time that they approached the gates to the third tier they had passed through the simple, cheerful homes of the moderately well-to-do and were currently immersed in what was, during the day, the town market. Now it was little more than a very empty square bordered by carefully tended public flower beds and a few manicured trees in miniature. At the gates to the third tier they were required to identify themselves once more. This time they made no comment to anyone and did not linger for a rest.

Past the third tier wall began the more luxurious homes. Closest to the wall were the merchants, whose class often built them enough wealth to impress at least the minor nobility. Though money could not directly buy them titles, the merchants had long since realized that waving a little cash around often influenced a person to forget that its bearer was not _technically_ any higher in rank but should be treated as such regardless. Beyond those came the homes of the minor nobility to the grand mansions of those noble houses large and prominent enough to afford them. The majority of the year these homes went uninhabited but for the skeleton staff that was kept to tend them, but at the end of every fall the noble families began to ship their court-minded members to the city for political games, courting, and whatever other mischief that they could manage. Zoisite wagered that they'd arrived just in time for the Winter Feast his father held every year just before the first snowfall. King Louis had a great fascination with the winter which his son had never quite understood.

And then he was home.

Zoisite had a sudden urge to fall from his horse and kiss the rain-glistened white-washed walls surrounding the castle grounds. Only the sheer silliness of such an act stopped him, but he was among the first to dismount and turn his unwelcome mount over to the waiting stable boys. The boy gave the horse an odd look, as if he wondered what the Prince had been doing riding such a ragged beast, and Zoisite was pleased to note that the boy was well enough trained to not ask. The horses were lead away and they were all five shuffled into the gate house to have their identities checked and to warm before a fire for a moment. _Bed_, Zoisite thought, _no. A hot dinner, a bath and then bed._ From the look of him, Zoisite would guess that Nephrite was as ill-traveled as he and much too tired to protest about his damnable, non-existent meteors.

~~**~~

Another day, another bruise; another scratch and yet another lump of humility stuck in her craw. Or was that shame? Ami wasn't certain. It hurt, regardless, and she was beginning to lose patience with this. Once more she sat upon the steps that lead into the salle and picked splinters from her legs. A month ago she might have been embarrassed to be in public view while in Senshi uniform. Despite that it was traditional the Princess had always felt that uniform the Senshi power required of them was rather… skanky. The short skirts offered little to no protection for their legs, nor, really, did the gloves and heels were rather impractical in a fight. Granted, learning to battle in such shoes _had_ improved her balance and posture by a great deal.

These days she had little time for such shame. She was learning, as they all were, that the Princess was left behind when you had donned the Senshi power. Personal concerns and convictions had to be left at the doorstep and only what was best for the solar system and your teammates was what mattered. The latter hadn't sunk in so deeply as the first; indeed, the four of them had only just begun to give barest lip service to it. What reason did she have to watch the back of anyone but her High Princess and her sworn-sister? Such thoughts were selfish, Ami knew, yet she could not seem to smother them.

It was hard to include the Venusian in her circle of protection and nigh-impossible for her to think of putting the Martian there. Rayna, she had to admit, was a very talented warrior and of good wit but the aloof manner with which she conducted herself was not one that Ami could bring herself to appreciate. Some days it was a trial merely to be within the same room as the Martian.

When she thought she'd gotten all of the splinters from her flesh (though more were certain to appear miraculously in odd places once she tried to go to sleep that night) Ami stood and dusted her hands off upon the sides of her skirt. One thing which the power did provide for them was a "cleaning" service. No one really understood where the Senshi uniforms came from, or how they fit their Senshi perfectly, or even _why_ they had power-given uniforms in the first place, but it was a very useful thing to have. Much more useful, Ami thought, than taking the chance that you would be caught in the heat of battle in a corset and ten layers of skirt. _Not_, she amended with a wry smile, _that corsets or proper layers of skirt matter to _some _of the Senshi._

As if that thought had summoned her, the Jupiterian Princess chose that moment to come running up the path from the soldiers' garrison. She was fully uniformed but didn't seem to have a speck of dirt on her, which meant that she hadn't yet begun her daily training. "I was beginning to wonder where you had all gone to. I was getting lonely."

Lita belted out a good laugh at that, slowing first to a jog and then a walk only to stop a few paces before Ami. "I should think you'd be happy, having the salle all to yourself."

"I was at first," the Mercurian smiled, "But then the pells decided to fight back."

Jupiter snorted. "They broke again?"

A nod confirmed it and Ami glanced back into the Salle. The broken, wooden doll was still in the middle of the room with half its body lying upon the ground. She should have noticed it cracking, but of course she'd been too busy reciting lists of French vocabulary to herself as she hit it. One swift kick had finally sent the abused equipment into two pieces and given her a good sized scrape down her femur, along with the splinters she'd been picking out of her flesh. This was the tenth one that they'd broken that month.

Jupiter whistled faintly and chuckled. "You're really starting to get some strength into those kicks. I better start watching it; you might just catch up to me!"

"You did that, Ami?" a sweet voice squeaked from their left. Both girls turned to find two silver buns with leaves poking out of them bobbing behind a nearby bush. The Princess was half stuck in the bush itself, face completely invisible but for two bright blue eyes that peered from between the leaves. Ami wasn't sure what to make of this; how did Bunny always seem to get into those positions?

"Well, it was likely cracked before I got to it," she replied after a moment's hesitation. "Bunny… are you stuck?"

"Only a little."

Jupiter went to the bush and began to try and extract their Crown Princess from it. Ami realized she'd be no help in this and so stood by as vanguard in case anyone else were to come by and question their "manhandling" of the Princess. It took only a few moments for Jupiter to pull her forcibly from the bush—which looked rather bedraggled afterward but seemed as if it would live—and managed to only rip the hem of the Princess's dress in the process. "Damnit, Bunny, what were you doing in there anyway?"

Both Bunny and Ami blushed faintly at Lita's language; neither of them bothered to complain about it, for it would do them no good. "There was a kitten."

"A kitten."

"Yes. It was pink."

"There was a pink kitten in the bush," Lita clarified. Her arms crossed beneath her chest and she shifted her weight to one leg as she looked down the several feet which already separated she and Bunny in height.

"It seems to me that there was a bunny in the bush," Ami interjected before Bunny could launch into another of the wild (and completely untrue) explanations that she was well known for. No one had quite figured out why Bunny was so insistent upon weaving these sorts of tales—Ami was of the mind that it wasn't intended as lying or fallacy, but merely a manifestation of the Princess's overactive imagination. It was far more likely that she had been pretending there was a pink kitten, rather than there having been an actual one. Though she'd never done any of it herself, Ami had heard that games of "pretend" were common amongst many children at play—and Bunny had not yet seemed to grow out of childish things.

Bunny giggled and even Lita had to laugh. The Amazon shook her head, beads adding a sort of music that resonated well with the song of the winter bird life. "Yes well… isn't the Bunny supposed to be with Luna today, for lessons?"

"Aw Lita!" Bunny whined. "Don't send me back there, it's _boring_! I want to…"

There was a pause as Bunny looked between the two of them hesitantly. Though there was no one else about, the Princess leaned in and whispered urgently, "I want to be with you! I can learn to fight; I can!" For one who seemed so keen on secrecy with this, Bunny squealed the last and began to bounce. It was no wonder she had earned such a nickname; her hair flopped behind her like drooped rabbit ears.

"But... Bunny, you are not a Senshi!"

Those big, brilliant eyes turned up at Ami, pleading, and Bunny gave the slightest of smiles. Oh that face! It was so hard to say no to it; Ami steeled her resolve. Fortunately it wasn't up to them. And then Jupiter ruined it.

"So what if she isn't?" Lita grinned. "I think that sounds like a great idea. You should definitely be in here with us!"

"Lita!" Ami frowned, arms akimbo. "You can't just make that decision. She's the High Princess, she shouldn't be out here—"

"So what?" the Amazon interjected with a sharply arched brow. Ami paled to see the Martian's favorite expression beginning to make its way into her best friend's habits. What was this? "We're Princesses and we're out here. I don't see why she shouldn't learn to defend herself."

"It isn't lady-like," Ami protested. Between them Bunny blanched, eyes darting first to one and then the other. Had either been paying attention to her they might have seen her hands fly to her mouth and the growing distress mounting upon the slight young girl. They did not, eyes now fully for one another.

"Really? So I suppose that you and I aren't women, then."

"Lita, this is different and you know it. We're Senshi, it's our place to fight."

That wasn't about to appease Jupiter; not this time. This fight wasn't one that was foreign to them, though each time it had come between them in the past they had chosen to walk away from it. The time to broach it had finally come. "So the fact that women on my planet are always trained to fight is… what, exactly?"

"That isn't fair, Lita!" Ami's mouth settled into a distinctly unhappy frown. "Things are different there!"

"Yeah, but they're different here, too. Who are you to say that it isn't ladylike for us to fight! I'm a lady!" The Amazon glowered down the foot of height which separated them. "We're all ladies! And all of us fight; or are you telling me that you're not a lady anymore?"

"I just said that it is different for the Senshi than it is for… for… for other women! I'll have you know that the culture here is a lot like Mercury in that women are not commonly trained to fight—"

"Not 'commonly,' which means that it is still done." Jupiter smirked. It was obvious that the Amazon thought she had won. That set Ami's blood to steaming. Why couldn't Lita simply accept that her planet was an anomaly?

"Only in very specific cases, and the High Princess does not qualify for those! Artemis will never go along with this."

"How do you know if you don't ask?" Jupiter countered, a single gloved finger held in Ami's face.

"Guys, please don't fight—"

"Then I'll ask!" Ami replied, cheeks turning pink with heat. She turned on her heel to do just that; it did not matter that she had no idea where Artemis was. Their instructor's absence in the morning wasn't terribly unusual these days. Now that the girls had an idea of what was expected from them, he normally left them alone to work on their paces and strength building until he'd gotten some paperwork finished. On most days they didn't see the man until a mark before noon; Ami turned and ran into a rather hard, broad chest.

With a winded "oof" the blue-themed Senshi had landed upon her butt in the frosted and bitter grass. She looked up, and up, and up into those distant and somewhat amused blue eyes she was beginning to know so well. "Mercury," Artemis stated as he held a hand out to her, "You didn't hear me coming."

That wasn't a question, even though it was phrased like one. She winced, taking his hand in helping her from the ground. Behind him were Mars and Venus, standing to his flanks. The Venusian didn't bother to hide her curious expression, eyes quickly flitting between the three girls before them. Mars, on the other hand, looked as she always did: Bored and disinterested. Ami fought the urge to twitch, instead settling her gaze upon her teacher's shoes. "I did not."

"Because you two were arguing."

"We… were, rather loudly, discussing a difference of opinion; yes sir."

Jupiter made a rude snort behind her, but the comment succeeded in pulling a chuckle from Artemis. "And what might have been so riveting a topic that you felt the need to shout over it?"

"I want to learn to fight, Uncle Arty," Bunny interjected. Silver brushed the corner of Amiru's vision and the ice-Senshi turned in surprise to see that the High Princess had come up beside her. To her further shock, Bunny then took Mercury's hand and threaded their fingers together, "I'm bored with stupid books and stupid lectures. Can't I be with my friends?"

"No."

Though it had been the answer that she was expecting the satisfaction of it never came; Ami couldn't help but wonder what his reasons were. Nor could she help the slight twinge of guilt she felt as she watched Bunny's face crumple with disappointment. "But—"

"No 'buts;' this discussion is closed." Artemis shook his head, "Now, you're supposed to be in the library with Luna. Get to it." With that, Artemis put his attention back upon his four stunned students. "We have a special session today with the Guards, assuming Jupiter managed to deliver my message…?"

"I did, sir," Jupiter responded automatically.

"Good. Come, then. Bunny; get to the library."

Artemis walked around the pair still impeding his path. Slowly the two Senshi behind him began to move as well. Ami caught them looking at her and Bunny, but whatever their reactions to Artemis's quick negation of the request they were keeping them carefully hidden. She looked behind her to find that Jupiter, too, had abandoned them in favour of following orders. "Bunny," she whispered.

The girl sniffed. One pale, too-thin hand brushed a few tears from her cheeks. Amiru began to reach for her and was caught off guard when Bunny pulled away from her and jerked her hand free. "I gotta go!" the Princess slurred. Before Ami had time to even consider correcting the girl's speech, much less to object to her leaving, Bunny had taken off for the Library at a run, dress held high about her knees. Ami winced, watching Bunny stumble and fall. Despite the ground that she'd eaten, the Princess pulled herself back to her feet and continued her run without care for the variety of shrubs, flower beds and benches that were in her way. The royal gardeners were going to be very sore about this.

"Mercury!" Artemis snapped from behind her. With a guilty conscience the Ice Princess turned to follow.

"So. Explain to me, again, why it is that Bunny should not train with us." This was not a question; it was a knife, flung with deadly accuracy at the blonde across the room. Rayna moved up a few points in respect so far as Lita was concerned. Of course she had to—Rayna was the only one on her side in this.

As soon as they'd gotten to their tower for the night, the battle lines had been drawn. They'd been clear during the training of the day, but none of the girls had dared have the gall to start another cat fight where Artemis could see. Instead they'd taken out their frustrations upon the guards who had shown up to spar against them. Never before had it been quite so gratifying to press a grown man's face into the sand; Lita only hoped that none of them had taken it personally.

Artemis had been quite impressed, enough so that he'd forgiven them the essays they'd had due the next day. For most of them this was a blessing, though Amiru looked more as if she felt it was a punishment rather than a reward.

"Because," Miran huffed and blew her cheeks outward in frustration. Lita wondered if she realized how very much she resembled an ape when she did that: a blonde, far-too-fuzy, hyper-active ape. "She is the High Princess. We are meant to protect her. She has no need to know these things and should be spending her time on things more important to her station—like politics and history. The Gods know she isn't good at any of them!"

"And her not knowing how to defend herself at all is a blessing… how?" Lita countered with a roll of her eyes. "If she doesn't know how to stay out of _our_ way when we're protecting her she'll end up tripping the lot of us! You've seen what a klutz she is!"

"That won't matter if we're good enough!" the blonde spat.

"Besides," her blue-haired (treacherous, deceitful) partner seconded. "Her mother is an advocate of peace and pacifism! It would look unseemly if she were to take up arms."

"So the rest of us learning the art of war looks like… what, precisely?" Rayna shot back before Lita could. "If you haven't noticed, this palace keeps a well-trained guard on hand, and Artemis is isn't teaching us to knit!"

"There is a difference!" Amiru cried, her hands becoming claws of frustration raised to pierce the air. "We are the Senshi—this is what we do! Granted, it isn't something I ever want to have to _use_ but we need to know this! The High Princess does not, that is what she has us for!"

"So you're advocating that she go uneducated on a subject simply because she won't use it?" Lita asked with a surprise that she actually felt. That didn't at all sound like the Amiru that she had always known! Yet it what the girl before her had both stated and meant.

A flush stained the Mercurian's cheeks and she turned her head to the side. "I won't discuss this anymore," she replied. Before anyone could protest, the girl had turned upon her heel and run up the stairs.

Abandoned, the Venusian scowled at the two of them. "I hope you're happy!" Miran shouted thoughtlessly at her cousin and then followed Amiru's example. Unlike the Ice Princess, she slammed her door when she reached it and the sound echoed back down the steps to the common room. Left alone with the Martian, Lita sighed and rubbed her temples.

"I don't know why we're bothering to fight about it," Rayna said after a long silence had drifted between the two of them. "Artemis has already said that he won't teach her." The Martian turned to the fireplace in the room and extended her hands to warm them. After a moment of hesitation, Lita joined her. Now that winter had set in about them the place was unbearably cold for the both of them. She wondered, briefly, how Rayna managed it—the fire child _needed_ the heat as she needed food or air. It wasn't something that Lita was comfortable in asking, however, or something that she thought Rayna would answer, even if she were to ask.

"I don't know," Lita shrugged. "Because it's… something?" A frustrated snort left her body and she banged a fist into the nearest object. It happened to be a table that wobbled a little and threatened to break. "I still think he's wrong, though!"

"Perhaps Bunny should ask the Queen. We could help her to get an audience…"

"Momma won't let me."

Both Princesses jumped at the sound of the third voice in the room. They hadn't noticed Bunny had come up the stairs from the bathing chamber below, and Lita wondered how long the girl had been listening to the lot of them discussing her. It was impossible to tell; Bunny had been acting melancholy all day, a thing which was entirely out of character for her. That, she decided, was why she felt so strongly about this—Bunny shouldn't be sad about anything.

"Are you certain?" Rayna asked sharply. "You've asked her?"

The High Princess nodded. "She said that my place isn't in the salle. That I need to do what Artemis and Luna say, and let the rest of you train in peace."

"Well ain't that a bitch," Lita swore faintly. Bunny clapped her hands over her mouth and then, miraculously, giggled. The Jupiterian Princess smirked at the sight of Bunny's renewed smile and even Rayna seemed to have something of a smile drawn upon her face.

"Something akin to that, yes." Rayna nodded in agreement. After a moment she shook her raven head. "I don't think it should be left at that, though. It isn't wise."

"No, it isn't," Lita agreed. They both returned to looking at the fire before them, and a third set of hands joined theirs in the heat from the flames. Lita smiled down at the silver Princess. "Why do you want to fight so badly, Bunny?"

"Because you four are doing it," she replied softly. "I don't want to be left out… and… because I… because everyone says that I can't." Confusion flickered faintly across Bunny's brow along with something else—determination, perhaps? "I'm too clumsy, or I'm too much of a crybaby. I don't want to be like that—I want to be like you Lita! Or you, Raye! You're both so strong, so graceful…"

The slow blush that appeared on Bunny's cheeks was endearing and Lita couldn't help but greet it with a smile. "I sneak down to the salle sometimes, and watch you all. I wish I were a Senshi, like you. Then we could all five be together, all the time."

Rayna made a rather rude noise, but when Lita looked at her she found the girl to be smiling, very faintly. "Well if that's all it is…"

"Huh?"

Rayna's violet eyes, so unreadable most of the time, flickered to meet Lita's. "Did Artemis not say that the nights were our own, to do as we please?"

"He did…" Lita frowned in confusion. And then it hit her, and she grinned. "I don't believe he ever said we had to stay in the tower. Do you remember him saying that Rayna?"

"No, I do not. In fact, I believe he mentioned that we might need some extra practice time."

"Yes, and he did not forbid our good friend Bunny from entering the salle to _watch_ us practice." Lita nodded. Bunny, who had been watching this exchange with mounting confusion, suddenly seemed to catch wise to their plot. She squealed and her boney arms wrapped about Lita's middle.

"OH THANK YOU GU—"

"Bunny!" They both snapped in unison, and then Lita laughed. It was hard not to; the girl's cheer was infectious.

"Be quiet. The ogres upstairs will hear you." Rayna completed the warning. She moved away from the fire, then and twisted her long hair into a knot at the nape of her neck, "Come. We should get going before they come looking for us."

~~**~~

The promised freeze was upon the city by the time that all five Princes had woke the next day. As they had arrived so late in the night, they had been allowed to sleep in and so it was that not a single one of them—not even Kunzite, whom Zoisite had been certain did not need sleep to function as a _normal_ human did—had opened their eyes before the sun had begun to dip towards the West. Zoisite had finally flung himself out of his bed (his glorious, warm and familiar feather bed) only to be greeted with a frosted window pane and a city of ice stretched out beyond. It had not been nearly that cold the night before! Suddenly he was quite grateful that they had continued on rather than stopping elsewhere for the night; it would have been impossible to traverse this without laming at least one of their mounts!

After he'd recovered from most of his shock, Zoisite had bathed (again), dressed himself and then took the stairs down to the private dining room which he and his friends used whenever they stayed in Versailles. He wasn't the last to arrive, but nor was he the first. Upon entering the room, Zoisite was assaulted by the smell of the rather robust tea which Kunzite was particularly fond of. Mixed with it was the tantalizing, torturous aroma of a variety of breakfast foods. It didn't matter that breakfast had been half a day ago for everyone else in the castle, the cooks knew that the boys would appreciate a regular "waking" meal whenever they rose and had taken it upon themselves to provide it for them. Zoisite set upon this with an appetite that momentarily destroyed all pretenses of class and refinement.

The silver haired Prince already sitting at the table grunted a note of disgust and saved his mug-full of tea before an errant elbow knocked it to the floor. "Pace yourself," was all that he said.

"Please tell me," the familiar, sleep-thick tones of his cousin asked from the doorway, "That they bothered to serve some _decent_ drink."

Zoisite twittered around a mouthful of food, eyes tracking Jadeite from the doorway to the end of the table where a drink service was displayed. Jadeite's hair was still wild from sleep, as blazing blonde as Zoisite's own, and the clothes that were pulled about his frame were haphazardly matched at best. Nor, Zoisite noted with no little amusement, had Jadeite bothered to button his shirt correctly. "Not all of us can stomach your 'coffee,' Sand-Dancer."

Jadeite made a rude noise and continued to lift the lids of an assortment of pots, searching for something he'd drink. He must have found what he was looking for, for eventually he poured a drink into one of the thick, plain ceramic mugs provided for them and took a place at the end of the table. It would be a while, yet, before Jadeite was good for more than a blank look or agitated remark.

"The world is one big ice block today," Zoisite informed them around a particularly zesty sausage. The sound of paper rustling was the only answer he received and it was then that Zoisite realized that Kunzite was reading something set before him on the table. The blonde leaned a little to his left that he might get a look at the stack of papers. For a moment Kunzite's arm remained in the way and then the stoic Prince took up his mug and Zoisite was able to read the large print scrawled at the head of the first page. "We didn't see any bandits on our way here."

Kunzite spared Zoisite a withering glance, swallowed another mouthful of tea and set the mug back upon the tabletop. "These reports are from the North-East. There's always been trouble up there."

"Yes. But you don't always read it at the table. Not at breakfast," Zoisite pointed out around two slices of thick, honey-slathered, wheat toast.

Kunzite grunted. "I'd rather wait until the others are awake to discuss this, Zoi."

"How can you eat like that?" Jadeite interjected before the Frenchman could protest Kunzite's silence. Neither of them missed the grateful look which passed across Kunzite's face, a fact Zoisite knew from the smirk which lit upon Jadeite's, but both pretended that they had. This argument was as old as they were.

"Good food deserves to be eaten," Zoisite replied smugly and popped half a blueberry scone into his mouth. "Ahwn oi huntenduh twah henjuy hhet."

Jadeite rolled his eyes, lips slurping unmajestically at his mug. It must have been coffee, Zoisite concluded, for no other drink caused his cousin to relax so easily. That the drink was addictive was obvious in the way that every person he'd ever met from the South seemed to _need_ it to survive their day. It was one of the many things about the South that Zoisite had never quite managed to understand, along with their unnerving love of the desert. What was it about a blank slab of sand that they considered to be so attractive?

Once again the door opened and Nephrite joined them. He was far more collected this morning than Jadeite and his thick mane of hair still appeared damp in the morning light. Nephrite yawned a greeting at them and fetched his own plate of food before joining them at the table. Barely a glance was spared in Zoisite's direction, but a courteous nod was given to the other two parties. Zoisite frowned; so they were fighting about last night, were they? Good of Nephrite to inform him of that.

"We should start in the lower district, out towards the farms where we came in last night," Nephrite began with less preamble than it took to butter a scone. "Then we can sweep around the city to the west. I figure they wouldn't have fallen in the ocean, since the guard would have been able to give us reports last night—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Zoisite let his half-eaten bacon fall back onto his plate and threw his hands into the air. "Am I really hearing this? Do you really believe that we're going out into _that_ to search for your imaginary missing rocks?"

"If they're imaginary then how are they _missing_?" Jadeite muttered into his cup.

It seemed to take Nephrite a moment to decide which one of them he should glare at; it was a difficult decision, amplified by the fact that they'd placed themselves on opposite ends of the rectangular table. In the end, Zoisite won his attention. "Yes, I do. Zoisite, this is important! Far more so than your pampered hide!"

"Are you calling me fat?" Zoisite hissed in reply. Nephrite was visibly taken back by that comment, the man's mouth going slack for a long moment as he tried to fathom the cognitive leap which had supplied the question. Beyond him Jadeite twittered.

"With the amount that you eat, it's a wonder that you're not."

"I happen to be slender. Slender! And nor," Zoisite turned a fully combined glare and pout upon the brunette in attendance. "is my hide pampered! I'd have calluses and scars if I didn't care enough to take _proper_ care of my skin. If you'd deign to use lotion and gloves as you should then your skin might be as perfect as mine!"

He paused a moment, and then added thoughtfully, "Well. Not _as_ perfect, but you may come a close second!"

Nephrite's face fell into his hands, cupped before him with his elbows pressed into the table. "Kunzite," he begged. The eldest of them only chuckled; it seemed that whatever his opinion was on the matter, Kunzite was content to let them solve this for themselves.

Jadeite made a rude noise and went to refill his mug. "Nephrite? I'm hurt, Zoisite, really. Choosing the Star-worshipper over your own flesh and blood. Tsk, tsk."

"Exactly how does the use of lotion and gloves not qualify as 'pampering'?" Endymion asked as he finally joined their group. The man was, like most of them, already dressed for the day but he'd yet to run a comb through his hair or to shave the whiskers off of his jaw. Zoisite stared at that with something akin to envy. Though they'd been on the road without a chance to shave for nearly a week, Endymion still only had the barest of scruff upon his face. Of the five of them he was the only one able to make long journeys and not look like a barbarian riding into town afterward.

"Because it's good hygiene," Zoisite replied. He ignored Jadeite's continued grumblings and reapplied himself to his bacon. "Endy, tell Nephrite that we're not going to spend any more time on this wild goose chase of his. This has gone far enough, hasn't it?"

"Dammit, Zoisite, I tell you I'm not crazy!" Nephrite snapped, one fist thumping against the table. Everything upon it rattled and Kunzite hissed faintly as his tea splashed, boiling hot, upon his arm.

"Watch yourself, Nephrite." Kunzite flashed angry silver eyes at their companion. He then picked up the stack of papers before them and held them out to their High Prince as he joined them with his own breakfast. Endymion settled himself in a seat between the Eastern and Western Princes and then took the papers. He read them over quickly and sighed when he had.

"Sorry, Nephrite, but we have other things to deal with. right now." Before the brunette could protest, Endymion held a hand up. "Please. There's been a lot of rioting and bandit activity to the northwest of the city."

"Isn't bandit activity within King Louis's jurisdiction?" Nephrite replied. Zoisite couldn't help but feel that the man was sulking, if only a little bit. What was it about a bunch of rocks that was so special, anyway? The blonde rolled his eyes under the screen of his curled bangs and got up to retrieve another glass of juice.

"Technically, but he's asked us for help with this. We should also pay our respects to the King and Queen at dinner."

"Did he ask help from us, or help from you-know-who?" Jadeite asked as he finally put his mug of coffee down and took up a muffin in its place. The question was valid, no matter how each of the boys—especially Endymion—winced at it.

Endymion shook his head. "I believe we can take care of this without resorting to such drastic measures."

By mutual, silent agreement the Princes let the subject drop. Talk turned then to more pleasant things of a different, albeit important, nature: which nobles were likely to be in town, what the current social statuses were and who had been married to whom that past spring. To those unfamiliar with the ways of the court, such things might have seemed little more than the gossip of country hens, but within the court such knowledge was a matter of political life-and-death.

Eventually their breakfast wrapped up and the five parted ways to clean themselves up properly. A servant came to inform all of them when their private meeting with the King would be, before the formal dinner. Much to his surprise, Zoisite was told that his parents wished an audience with him before they'd even seen to the High Prince.

This sudden oversight of proper rank and procedure was far more alarming than Zoisite wished to admit, but as he headed from their suite and down the elaborately bedecked halls of Bordeaux he found it easy to ignore for the simple familiarity of his surroundings. Along the way he passed many servants, each in the uniform colours of the palace: deep ocean blue and brilliant silver gilt. Never did he see a courtier, however, and that was unusual. With the freeze upon the city, it was likely that a good portion of them had taken up skates and gone to the lakes to amuse themselves. Such events were often turned into full-court holidays, at least for those who had no actual duties within the kingdom. Zoisite dearly wished he could have been among them, but knew that his duty to the realm and the High Prince came first.

His parents weren't waiting for him in their formal receiving chamber, which meant that the audience was an informal one. This relaxed the Prince somewhat; his parents wanted to see him for personal reasons, then, pertaining to their relationship as parent and child—not rulers and heir. He hadn't the time to consider what it could be about; as soon as the guards had announced his presence, Zoisite was called forth into the private suite of the king and queen.

These rooms he had seen many times in his life, and in his sixteen years they had rarely changed more than a chair or rug. His father had long ago insisted that the front sitting room be done up in warm brown and green plaid, quite a change from the pastel elegance which swathed the rest of the castle. Though the Queen had not been happy about this at first, fond as she was of the delicate floral motifs and fragile architecture everywhere else, she, too, had come to love it as much as her husband did. Now as their son entered the room he found her sprawled regally upon a divan at the window, warm robes tucked about her pallid form and a book in hand. She looked as comfortable as she did sickly.

"Mother?" Zoisite quickly crossed the room to her side where he sunk upon his knees before her.

"Do not worry," Maria-Therese told her son as she reached forth to gently caress his cheek. "I've only a cold. This weather has never agreed with me and the unseasonable change much less. Still, it is a good sign."

"That you are sick?" Zoisite frowned. His mother had never been one for the winter cold of the East, he knew. Throughout his life, she had been sick much of each winter—many people had decided that the cause of this was her heritage. She had come from the South, the sister of the current King Ferdinand, and had never quite taken to the snow and ice. It was just as well that her title came with no true power, for she would have been unfit to lead anyone for several months out of the year. "I would never think that a _good_ thing."

"Oh Heavens, no!" the Queen laughed; the sound quickly turned into a rasping cough and Zoisite leaned forward to slip an arm about her back and thump it. She waved him away, hiding her mouth with one hand.

"Maria," his father's voice wafted into the room from beyond the darkened bedroom doorway, "Are you all right?"

"Fine, my Lord," she replied when the fit had passed her. "Our son has come. Do not be a boor and show him your face, lest he forget it and think the steward his father!"

"_Is_ the steward his father? You've threatened me with that so many a time I'm beginning to wonder," Louis teased as he entered from the bedroom. Zoisite had to shake his head at the banter between the two. Both were creatures of keen spirit, with a healthy love for jokes; many rumors had been started about things which they used for little more than good-spirited prods at the other's humor, the least of which being about the parentage of their only child. By this point, Zoisite was quite used to it and comfortable with the fact that he did look a great deal more like his mother than his father.

The Queen smiled despite her sickness and closed her book upon a ribbon which marked her place. "I won't deny the possibility, but will say that there is no proof one way or t'other."

"So long as we keep the options open," her husband smiled and dipped to kiss her. Zoisite averted his eyes and coughed upon his fist in embarrassment. Though he was glad that his parents did indeed love one another, a rare thing among the nobility, it was also strange to see such public display of this fact. His parents seemed to take the hint and King Louis retired to his armchair nearby.

The seat was old, much like the King himself who had been no spry teenager when his only son was conceived. Many thought it odd that such a strong bond had been formed between the King and Queen at all, for a little more than two decades separated them in age; where the Queen was young yet, with only a handful of lines beginning to encroach upon her skin of eyes and mouth, the King had long since acquired silver to every strand of his hair and a map across his face. Many of these were lines made with years of mirth, but no few of them had been drawn there by sword point and the heavy hand of the sun. Looking at him now, Zoisite began to realize just how old his father truly was—and how few years remained until the crown would fall to him. Rather than be anxious for that moment to come, the young Prince was seized by a sudden terror.

"Father," he began to ask and settled himself more comfortably upon the floor. It wasn't precisely "princely" of him to sit in such a manner, but neither of his parents would care in so casual a setting. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't just… that you didn't call me here for… Mother, you are all right, are you not?"

"Oh my love," Maria-Theresa smiled down at him and placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder. "Do not worry. I shall be with you for a long time, yet, and so shall your father." She brushed one of his soft, blonde curls back behind his ear and Zoisite smiled at the reassurance.

"But we do have something we wish to discuss, it's true," Louis clarified. "Nothing so dire as you think; at least we hope not. There already seem to be good omens abound for it!"

"The early freeze?" Zoisite tilted his head as he questioned this. "How is that a good thing for anyone? The farmers surely…"

"Are just fine," Louise dismissed the objection with a wave of his hand. "Harvest was brought in faster this year than ever before. The people are warm and secure—we'd even planned a special holiday before we'd realized this was going to hit so early. Regardless, I'd like to take it as a good sign."

It was then that Zoisite remembered the reason behind this "good omen" they were so crazy over: "The trade agreements with Mercury—you've finally gotten them to agree to a revision!"

The King and Queen exchanged a look of silent communication, the kind which all children had seen their parents share at one point or another. "That is… somewhat true, Zoisite," Maria-Theresa replied, all of the tease now absent from her voice. "We have told you previously that the trade agreements with Mercury have been standing since your birth."

"Yes, the ones that wouldn't allow the silk merchants through to their planet last year, _and_ have been making prices on imported grains astronomical for the past _three_ years. Plus there's the fact that they won't allow us to import any armor or weaponry from their blacksmiths, and everyone knows that Mercurian swords—"

"Zoisite," Louis interrupted him gently. The Prince stopped immediately; it wasn't like his father to interrupt anyone, much less his own son.

"You must remember that this treaty was signed thirteen—nearly fourteen—years ago. Our needs were much different back then, but it is high time that those treaties changed."

"So you haven't gotten them to revise it?"

"Not yet, no," Maria-Theresa replied with a slow shake of her head. "There are stipulations attached to the treaties which require certain events to have taken place first. Stipulations which we agree it has come time to meet, as the necessity behind them is still valid today."

"You've known that you were betrothed many years ago…" Louise paused, as if waiting for his acknowledgement of this.

A slow, dull ache of dread began to creep its way into Zoisite's bones. At first he thought that someone must have opened a window when he wasn't looking—but no, that chill was fear. "She's of age now," Maria-Theresa smiled gently at her son. "Well, technically she came of age nearly a year ago, but other obligations had to be seen to before this one was ready to be met. We've spoken with King Aqui and the date has been set for the Spring equinox."

"I'm to be married." Zoisite found that his voice was strangely dull. It would have been amusing were this anyone else but him.

"Son, you had to have expected this," his father replied, concerned etched upon that ancient face. As much as he hated to admit it in this moment, Zoisite knew that his parents only meant the best. They had to do their duty by their people, and a part of that duty meant that their child was a viable bargaining chip. He also knew that no matter how much they loved one another now, they, too, had begun their marriage as an affair of state. That thought eased his mind a trifle and he was able to give his father a faint nod.

"I knew," he whispered.

~~**~~


End file.
